Heartland II: New Beginnings
by D.aisyBlues
Summary: Amy and Ty are engaged, and Lou and Scott now have a daughter. A new girl, Jess,Joni's daughter, comes to Heartland to face her tragic past, and begin her future. But will she find her place at the stable and let people see her true emotions?Please R
1. Chapter 1

**/.Chapter One.\\**

My Dad had always warned me about slowing down, every time I cut a corner too close, or landed a jump a bit shakily, he always yelled 'Jess, slow down before you get yourself killed!'. I couldn't help it though, I had an instinct -- alright, well, more like a need; a need for speed. Well, what do you expect? If you put a teenage girl on a dirt bike that can manage a hundred-fifty miles per hour, you're going to have a speed demon on your hands. But I was a responsible rider, I was always in control of my bike, despite what other people thought. Sure, I had my share of falls, every rider did, it's just that since I was a girl and all, everyone made a bigger fuss over it. I could ride as just as well as the boys could, and I had made several attempts to prove that, but my Dad still kept his opinion; his daughter did _not _belong on a dirtbike. His son though, did.

Cody and I were twins, he was older than me by two minutes, which he pointed out to me every chance he got. He was the best brother you could ask for though, he wasn't like other brothers, whom as soon as they hit the age of fourteen, they ran off with thier friends, were embarassed if you were talking to them in school, and utterly forgot your existance. Cody wasn't like that at all though, I could talk to him about pretty much everything, he never lost his patience with me, and he was always giving me tips on my riding and he was looking out for me all the time. Cody was just a nice, fun-loving guy that could have you laughing within a couple minutes of first meeting him. He got along with pretty much everyone.

Cody and I had started competing together, Cody had started riding when he was eight, and, despite my mother's reluctance, I started when I was eleven. My Dad had been riding since he was nine, and when he got older he became involved in motocross and endurance races. He had gotten into an accident once and broken his leg, then he stopped riding for a while, but he stayed in contact with his friends. When Cody had grown up a little, he had decided to teach Cody how to ride.

Cody had been my Dad's pride and joy, whatever Cody put effort into, school, sports -- he got through with flying colors. I had the same grades in school, I was on the honor roll and all that jazz, but... I couldn't help but feel like my Dad didn't notice. He treated us the same, but in my mind I couldn't help but feel that in some way he _favored_ Cody. Maybe that was why I had started dirtbiking in the first place... either way, those very thoughts had caused the accident.

"Jess?" Christina's voice, touched with concern, broke me away from my trance of staring out the window, and I turned my head to look at her. The dim light from the lamp in the corner of the room fell on her, she was standing in the doorway, her dark brown hair was short and sort of spiky at some parts, she had soft features and her skin was tan, her green eyes watched me from behind her horn-rimmed glasses. I hated that look -I had gotten it so many times in the past few months, it was of concern, of pity, and yet at the same time, a sense of knowing, like everyone had some little secret, something that I didn't know about; like all of this was some big trick and they were waiting for me to realize it.

I didn't reply to her though, and after a few moments she walked into the room, her heels silent on the dark rug, pausing by her desk, a rather large wooden table, piled with papers and books, and a couple of picture frames obscured it's surface. She was grabbing her notebook and a pen, and looking through a couple of papers, her face pre-occupied.

"Have you been waiting long?"She asked.

"No,"I answered calmly, I was pre-occupied as well, my gaze on the book case on my right, like everything else in the room, it was enormous, covering the whole wall. It's shelves were filled with books, some small, most of them rather thick, they didn't seem all that interesting though; they were on things like _ Adolescent Therapy_ and _Dsicovering Your Inner-Self, _self-help books and things like that. The walls were a soft red, which looked nice with the dim light from the lamp.

Christina was my therapist, my Dad had sent me to see her after my mom had left, he didn't want to deal with my _issues_, so, after school every two weeks or so, I had to come to her office. Even though she was supposed to pick my brain about how I felt and things like that, she really was a nice lady, and I had to hand it to her, she had a lot of patience with me, more than other people had, at least. I knew that trying to talk to me and let out my 'feelings' was a losing battle though, I just didn't want to talk about what had happened; the past was the past, and no one was going to get it out of me.

"Well, just checking, I just got a phone call from someone, which concerns our session today,"Christina said, sitting down in an over-stuffed looking leather chair across from me, organizing her papers, she jotted something down on the notebook, biting her lower lip slightly. I was sitting on a large, over-stuffed leather couch, well, sitting would be an understatement, I felt like I was _sinking_ into the bowels of the couch.

I raised my eyebrows slightly, interested in this bit of information,"Really?"

Christina looked up from her notebook, watching me for a few moments, then said carefully," Well, Jess, it's nearly been a year since your brother's accident, and you haven't quite..recovered. Your grades have dropped considerably, and haven't picked up yet, and lately I've heard that you've been getting into fights at school... that you got suspended,"Christina paused for a moment after saying this, then continued," I'm a bit surprised that you haven't gotten involved in any drugs..or drinking, which, would be a very, very bad idea."

I could feel my eyes narrow a little, despite how I tried to keep my cool. I could do this easily, keep my cool, I mean, but I couldn't help but get a little defensive. I know that I didn't have the worst problems in the world, there were people who had it worse than I did, but I'm not saying that life had been a box of chocolates, either. Yes, I had gotten suspended for punching a kid in school, it had been a one time thing though, I wasn't really the fighting type, it was messy -but that kid had deserved it, he just didn't shut-up making comments about me and Cody. Christina's drug comment had annoyed me as well, I may not have been doing that well in school, but I was not a druggie. My voice sounded cool and defensive,"It's not that easy to get over. That kid deserved it anyways, he was saying things about..Cody, anyways, school might not be my strong point, but I'm not _that_ stupid to get involved with drugs, after seeing what happened with Joni."

Christina pursed her lips and frowned a little at me, clearly she was dissapointed with my reply, but hey, she had asked for it. I didn't mean to be nasty or anything, I really don't like being mean to people, but sometimes the line needs to be drawn. I crossed my legs calmly, waiting for Christina to reply, which she did within a few moments.

"I think you should instead refer to _Joni_, as your mother, she deserves respect, and your support,"She started, watching me carefully still, almost like a hawk,"As for your grades, you used to be excellent in school, and you _know_ you can do better. I can truly say I'm dissapointed, Jess, petty words shouldn't bother you. Your behavior lately has been unacceptable,so I have spoken with your father, and we have decided to send you away to get your life back on track. Your father thinks it will be good for you, it will give you time to accept your emotions and face your past."

She paused briefly to hand me a brochure, it was brightly colored, filled with information and rather exceptional photographs. I opened it, and saw a photo of a woman with long brown hair, looking to be in her mid-twenties, standing next to a palomino horse, a gentle smile on her face. Well, at least it wasn't some military school, or something like that, still though, this was a bit of an outrage. All because my Dad didn't want to buck up and actually try talking to me, I was going to have to change my lifestyle, again.

Christina continued,"I just got off the phone with the owner, she says that she was a friend of your mother's, so she's generously offered for you to stay with her."

I listened to Christina, but barely, her voice seemed far away. I was still looking at the picture of the woman and the horse, my thoughts far away from the cozy office, far away from the outer suburbs of town; they were at a small farm in late Spring, in a medium sized arena, sitting on the back of a gentle, but spunky dark bay pony who was trotting happily in circles around a young woman with short, blonde hair and blue eyes, smiling and laughing a little as she watched. A place that felt like home.

I could feel Christina's gaze on me, as though trying to read my face, my eyes, for any thoughts, as though she were observing me like some science experiment. I looked at her, the memory fading as quickly as it had come, my gaurd was up again,"So where is this place? And who came up with the idea?"

"It's in Virginia, and your Dad came up with it, he talked to your mother, and then she contacted Amy, the owner, and gave the okay. You should be leaving next Wensday."She replied.

My mouth gaped slightly, today was Tuesday, so I had a little bit over a week's notice of this small move to a different state. I groaned loudly and sat back on the couch, running my hand over my face in frustration," So, you've given me a weeks notice that you're shipping me off to a different state, all because my Dad won't talk to me?" I sat up again, looking at Christina," I know this might come as a surprise to you, but I do have friends, you know."

I was being sarcastic of course, I had always been sarcastic, but not to be mean. And well, I _did_ have friends, but not close ones, not ones that actually cared what happened to me, just people to hang out with.

"Jess," There was that concern again," I know this doesn't seem fair, but this will really help you out. It'll give you some down time, and a fresh start will be great for you."

"So that's why you're shipping me off to some hick town?"

"_No_, Jess,"Christina said pointedly, adjusting her glasses a little,"It's why we've decided to send you to Heartland."


	2. Chapter 2

**/.Chapter Two.\\**

Amy paused for a few moments as she poured two cups of coffee, looking out the sun-filled window at the yard, it was mid-morning, the November sunshine illuminating the last bits of grass until next Spring. The two barns were calm and peaceful looking, and beyond them she could see the horses in thier pastures. After all these years, Heartland was still serving the same purpose, helping horses. Amy had finished the morning feeds, awaiting her sister, Lou's, arrival. She hadn't seen Lou in a while, and it would be nice to catch up on things.

After she finished preparing the coffee, she walked over to the table and set the two mugs down, sitting down. Across from her was Lou, looking over a couple of papers that Amy had put on the table; the waiting list for Heartland. Lou studied the papers with interest, her cornflower blue eyes determined, her blonde hair was longer now, falling a bit past her shoulders. Next to Lou sat a four year old girl with the same blonde hair, pulled back in a pony tail, and bright green eyes. She was wearing pink over-alls, and in her hands was a doll and a small comb, with which she was brushing the doll's hair.

Amy looked her neice, Emily, and smiled a little, Emily was already beginning to develop a love for horses, by the way Emily kept glancing at the door, Amy could tell that she wanted to go outside.

Finally, Lou looked up from the papers, thanking Amy for the coffee as she took a sip,"So, who are you going to take in?"

Amy paused for a moment, thinking, then replied,"Well, Ty and I are thinking of taking in Tex and Splash. Splash has been on the waiting list for a couple of weeks now, and Tex really seems like he needs some help."

Splash was a Pony Of The Americas, apparently he was a popular show pony for students at local barn, but lately he'd been refusing to load into the trailer, throwing a fit when he even came close to the ramp. Tex was a Quarter Horse, the owner, Ross Kennel, had recently bought the gentle gelding, only to find out that he wouldn't even stand still to be groomed without lashing out and biting, it had gotten to a point where none of the stable hands would enter his stall. Amy knew that Tex and Splash's problems would be challenging, but with patience and attention, they would be able to help the horses.

"It seems like you and Ty have everything figured out,"Lou smiled at her sister.

Amy smiled back but shrugged her shoulders slightly,"It's alright, but it's not like having you around. It's really great to see you, Lou."

"I'm sorry I couldn't visit sooner, the office has been really hectic lately, but it shouldn't be an excuse."Lou said, putting an arm around Emily.

"Don't worry about it," Amy reassured her, she knew how rough it must have been for Lou lately, trying to keep up with work, take care of Emily, and be a part of Heartland all at the same time.

Amy and Lou looked towards the door as it opened and Ty walked in, a broad smile on his handsome features. Emily jumped up from her seat happily, she ran over to Ty and hugged him.

"Hey Emily!"Ty said, smiling as he ruffled her hair a little. Emily then went back and sat at the table while Ty got himself a cup of coffee, and sat down next to Amy, kissing her cheek.

"Jeez, someone's in a good mood."Lou commented, joking a little.

"Byron is doing an amazing job with Tiara, I think she's nearly ready to go home,"Ty replied, flashing a hopeful smile at Amy.

Tiara had arrived at Heartland a few weeks ago, scared of barns, the last stable she ahd been at had collapsed in a storm, and she had barely made it out alive. Now she was still refusing to go inside barns, but she now trusted people more. Byron was one of Heartland's newest stable hands since Joni had left, he had been hired last year, already having a fair share of experience with horses, he treated them with gentleness and was always quiet around them, and was already learning about the remedies that Heartland used.

Amy smiled back,"That's great news,"She bubbled, her happiness was short lived, however,"I'm going to miss Tiara though, she's such a sweet mare."

Ty nodded, squeezing amy's hand gently,"Byron is too, but that's the business, I suppose."

Amy nodded, her gaze returning to Lou, that was Heartland's purpose, to help horses and then send them back to thier owners. Sometimes it was hard to say good-bye, but it helped knowing that they had done the right thing.

Ty glanced over the papers that Lou had been looking at,"Ah, new arrivals,"He smiled a little,"We can call Tex and Slash's owners tonight, I already disinfected two stalls for them."

"Thanks, Ty,"Amy murmured.

"So, what's this I hear about a new girl coming to Heartland?"Lou asked with interest, moving Emily onto her lap.

Ty answered her question,"Jess, Joni's daughter, is coming here Wensday."

Amy added on," Apparently she was in a motocross race with her brother a year ago, and they both got into an accident, her brother, Cody, died, and Jess had to get knee surgery."

Lou gasped slightly, her eyes wide,"That's so sad, poor Jess, and poor Joni! I couldn't imagine losing a child, but I know how Jess must feel."

Amy nodded gravely," Jess hasn't been able to get over it, that's what Joni told me on the phone, her grades have been slipping in school, it seems like things have taken a real turn for the worst. Her Dad won't talk to her, and she won't talk to Joni, so it seems like no one can get through to her. Joni told me about how Jess used to ride horses before she started dirt-biking, so maybe the horses will help."

"Hopefully it will,"Lou nodded,"That's really nice what you're doing for Joni."

Ty smiled,"Joni was a part of Heartland, we can only help her out in thanks of how she's helped out with the stables."

Amy smiled in agreement, she really missed Joni, but maybe when she was out of Outpatient she would come for a visit.

"The extra help would be nice too,"Lou smiled a little, changing the subject,"So you two can start making plans.."

Lou's gaze had gone from Ty and Amy, to the gold engagement ring on Amy's finger. Ty had proposed to Amy last month, when they had been on a trail ride, and now they planned to get married in the summer. But with the day-to-day work of Heartland, they hadn't had much time to talk about the wedding.

Amy and Ty exchanged a knowing glance, and Amy blushed a little, her heart filled with joy. She really loved Ty, and wouldn't have spent the rest of her life with anyone else, they ahd been through so much together, and no matter what, Ty had always been right by her side.

"Can we go out and see the horses?"Emily asked quietly, her voice breaking the momentary silence, her green eyes were watching Amy and Ty.

Amy smiled again and stood up,"Of course,"She offered Emily her hand, which the young girl took, and then the four of them walked out of the warm, cozy house and out into the cool sunshine.

They walked over to the first paddock, watching as a Clydesdale, a chesnut mare and a black pony trotted up to the fence, wanting treats and attention. Emily stroked the black pony's muzzle happily, but was trying to keep her excitement at bay so she wouldn't scare him away. The pony,Blackie, nuzzled the girl's pockets.

Amy stroked the Clydesdale, AJ's, face quietly, glancing at the training arena. She could just see a teenager with slightly long black hair standing in the center of the arena, wearing faded jeans and a jacket, unbuckling the halter on a bright bay mare. It was Byron and Tiara, and by the looks of it, they were doing join-up.

Lou had followed Amy's gaze, and then picked up Emily,"Let's go watch."

Ty nodded in agreement and the four of them walked over to the training arena, standing near the fence.

Bryon stood silently, looking solemn, Amy thought, as Tiara trotted away from him, happy with the freedom. The mare then paused and looked back at Byron, shaking her flowing black mane a little. Byron clicked his tongue though and drove her on with the lunge line. Tiara gave an excited snort, then quickly moved away, picking up a canter as Bryon continued to drive her away, keeping her along the fence.

Amy smiled a little as the mare cantered past them, her neck arched and her strides flowing, showing her Dressage confirmation. She had watched join-up several times, but Amy always felt a pang of emotion afterwards, seeing the bond between horse and rider unite. Tiara cantered a few times around the arena, but then Byron stepped towards her quickly, to make her change direction.

Tiara responded to the action, turning on her haunches and cantering in the opposite direction, one of her ears pointed towards Byron, then her quick pace began to slow, and she lowered her head, her lips and jaw moving slightly. Byron immediately noticed this, and turned so his shoulders pointed towards her, and he dropped his gaze, looking at the ground.

Tiara soon slowed and stopped, her ears perked, watching Byron intently, seeing that he had stopped. She tossed ehr head slightly and whickered, then walked over to Byron, swishing her tail. Then she stood behind him, lipping his hair playfully.

Amy watched as a smile grew on Bryon's features, and he turned, stroking Tiara's face, then turned and walked away, Tiara followed him closely.

After a few minutes, Byron had clipped the halter back on Tiara and lead her over to the little audience that had gathered. Emily clapped her hands happily, Amy shared her niece's enthusiasm. Tiara had come to Heartland nervous and timid, but in time she had become more confident and her playful personality showed, she had really come a long way.

At Emily's applause, Byron took a mock bow, beaming as he walked voer to the group and stopped.

"Good job Bryon," Ty told him, smiling.

"Thanks,"Byron replied, stroking Tiara's neck,"She's been doing great with the join-up lately, I think tomorrow I'll try leading her through the barn."

"Sounds like a plan."Lou said.

_Indeed it does_, Amy thought, happy with the progress Tiara had made. As she looked at the kind mare, she hoped that Jess would learn to love Heartland like her mother, and like she did. That's what everyone needed to face the past, hope and a new beginning.


	3. Chapter 3

**/.Chapter Three.\\**

Alright, well I suppose you want me to tell you about my life story and all that good stuff, well, I'm going to be bluntly honest with you; there isn't any tragic love story where the guy ends up going out with me, or happy endings to some tragic accident or anything like that. I'm fifteen, give me a break. I mean, considering what I've been through already, that should be interesting enough for you, not saying that I have the worst possible problems or anything like that. But still, losing your brother and your mom winding up in Outpatient, and your Dad _still _not talking to you, that has to count for something. I knew things could be worse though, so I tried my best to make light of the situation, and it had worked for nearly a year, so I was sticking with it. Some people think I could do better though, so that's why I was being sent six-hundred miles away from my house, my town, everything I'd known, and I wasn't traveling first-class either.

Yep, that's as good as it gets.

Oh, I was used to traveling, my Dad took Cody and I all over New England for Motocross races, it's just that we'd traveled by car...and there had been ample leg room...and there weren't any whining kids or crying babies. Okay, so I've never been on a plane before, to get even more to the point, I've never traveled by myself before. So, I was just a tiny bit nervous. It doesn't take that much for me to get nervous or worry, and when I do, I can't get my mind off of it, no matter how I try to keep myself busy, I was a bit of a spaz I guess you could say. Not that the plane hit any turbulence, or there was a storm or anything like that, no, the ride was perfectly safe. The noise was just beginning to get to me, which I can usually block out people's voices pretty easily, so I turned on my iPod and looked out the window at the blue sky and the clouds. They were really pretty, the clouds, I mean, they look a lot different when you're in a plane, looking at them next to you, instead of looking up at them. They seemed to have more mass, and were a lot bigger, of course.

I was still pretty mad about having to move, my Dad hadn't said much when he was driving me to the airport, he never said much about anything anymore. I even tried to prompt conversations out of him, asking him how work was, how his friends were, but he'd only reply with 'alright' or 'They're fine', and that was all. I hated the silences with him too, there would just be this awkward silence until one of us left the room, and it didn't even seem to bother him, it seemed like he could just be quiet forever. So I'd stay in the room with him as long as I could, waiting for him to say something, and then when I couldn't stand the cold silence anymore, I'd simply leave the room. So when he dropped me off I simply said bye and with some relief, even though I hated myself for it, I left the car and went into the airport.

I didn't really blame him for not wanting to talk to me, I wouldn't talk to me either after what happened, but it would still be better if we could talk about what happened. Dad hadn't said a word about the accident, not even at the funeral.

My Mom had been more open though, she had told me dozens of times it wasn't my fault, but I could remember when I was in the hospital that she had been crying, and not just once, nearly every night; crying over her dead son, all because of my foolish wants. She had started drinking not too long afterwards, she didn't drink when I was around, only when I wasn't in the house or when she thought I was asleep, but I had found many empty whiskey bottles in the recycables. She had made a bad choice and decided to go driving when she was drunk, and she ahd gotten into an accident, totalling the car, thankfully she hadn't been badly injured, but she was put in Outpatient quicker than you could count to three. After that my Dad had filed for divorce, he and my Mom hadn't been on good terms ever since the accident. All of this had happened from one event, from one single death, all of this had been messed up; a family had been torn apart, and it was my fault.

My Mom had gotten me into horseback riding, she said it was 'in my blood', since her parents had owned a stable in Canada, and my grandmother was an Equine veterinarian as well. The first time I had ridden a horse was when I was four years old, it had been a County Fair, and there were pony rides, so my Mom had taken me on them, I rode a small chestnut pony. After that my Mom had said,' I was hooked on horses', my walls had become plastered with horse posters, model horses and horse books donned my shelves, and if I was going to watcha movie, it was preferably about horses. So, when I was six, she took me to a farm her friend owned, and gave me lessons on a small, spunky pony named Domino. I had been your average horse-crazy kid. My Mom had always supported my horseback riding, teaching me what she could about riding. My dad though, had never really held an interest in the 'horse bussiness' even though my Mom said that he used to ride.

It wasn't like I was being shipped off to some place I knew nothing about, my Mom had told me quite a few times about Heartland, she used to work there. She told me about all the good times he had had there with amy and Ty, but I barely remembered it, only ehr bubbling happiness of recalling those fond memories. She had even begun to teach me about the remedies they used on horses, but I began to start dirt-biking, and soon the horse posters and books dissapeared. My Mom must have been a little dissapointed, but she had hidden it easily, supporting me with Motocross as well.

Still though, I just wanted to go home, I didn't want to go on some life-changing adventure and show my true 'feelings', like Christina had said. I had already promised myself I wasn't going to like Heartland, nope, not one bit.

Suddenly, a voice came on the speaker, cracking horribly,"Please buckle your seat belts, we'll be landing in ten minutes."

I turned off my iPod and put it in my pocket, sighing a little as I buckled my seatbelt. I felt like asking the Flight Attendant if there was any chance we could turn around, but she'd probably only give me some weird look. No one understands cassual sarcasm these days.

I sighed slightly as I grabbed my backpack and my duffel bag and began the long, glum walk down the hall. People kept bumping into me, and my duffel bag wasn't necesarily light, either, I nearly tripped a few times, but soon the hall opened up. I paused and looked around, looking for Ty and Amy, my Dad had told me that they'd meet me near the sitting area, which was on my left. I took a few tentative steps and scrutinized the area, then I met the bright-green gaze of a man in his late twenties, he had short black hair and was rather tan, despite the cool weather, which meant that he must have spent a lot of time outdoors, he wore a brown leather jacket and a sweater under it, with a pair of faded jeans, worn at the knees and a pair of muddy boots. He was lean and tall, his face and jaw were nicely defined.

He watched me and his eyebrows furrowed slightly,"Jess?"

"That's me,"I said, walking over to him,"..You must be Ty."

Ty gave me a warm smile and nodded, offering his hand for me to shake,"It's nice to meet you, how was your flight?"

I adjusted my bag slightly to shake his hand, it felt kind of odd, being so formal with someone that I'd be living with,"Eh, can't complain, it's nice to meet you too."

"Here, let me take that,"Ty said gently, reffering to the duffel bag, and before I could reply, he had taken it and was holding it easily, even though it must have been ten pounds. That was so muchh like a guy, to act all macho and carry your bags even though you were capable. That warm smile stayed on his tan face, and I returned it with a slight smile of my own, it was one of those smiles you had to return.

"I'm sorry Amy isn't here, she had to help Byron out at the barn,"Ty expalined, then he took a couple of steps towards the exit,"Shall we head off?"

"Uh,sure,"I replied, walking with him.

"So, how's your mom doing?"Ty asked, his voice was light, cassual, but I could feel his gaze on me, wodnerinf if this was a subject he shouldn;t bring up,

"The least time I spoke to her she was doing fine."I replied lightly, trying to keep my tone from sounding cool, I didn't really want to talk about Joni, or my Dad, for that matter. I quickly changed the subject,"So..you,er, help horses?"

Ty glanced at me but then nodded,"Oh, yeah, Heartland takes in horses that have been abused, or have lost thier trust, and we help solve thier problems or rehome them, depending on the siuation..."

He continued to tell me about Heartland, but to be honest I wasn't really listening -yes, I know, I know, it was rude. I was tired though, I hadn't slept well the night before, and the flight hadn't helped, so you'd have a better chance of pigs flying than me focusing on anything right then. Soon we were walking through the parking lot, it was a cool November day, filled with sunshine and cold breezes, the sky was a perfect blue, with fluffly white clouds dotting it.

Ty unlocked the door to his car, a green Land Rover, we put the bags in hte back, then he opened the passenger door for me, I thanked him and got in, closing the door. Ty got in as well and started the engine, then pulled out of the parking spot, and turned onto the highway.

"So, do you have any experience with horses?"He asked, keeping his eyes on the road.

I thought for a few moments before answering his question," Well, I used to ride, and I know how to groom and tack up, but I haven't been around horses in a while."

"Don't worry about it,"Ty told me," Amy and I will show you around the barn later if you're up for it, and tomorrow we'll show you how to do some of the barn chores."

Oooh, fun.

I fell asleep sometime after that, like I mentioned before, I was pretty beat. My dreams were blurred though, about horses and dirt-biking, and when I woke up I didn't feel the least bit rested. My attention was quickly averted however, as Ty turned onto a long dirt driveway, lined with pasture fences. Up ahead I could see a white farm house, along with two white and green barns which ahd hanging flower-baskets. I could see some horses grazing in thier pastures peacefully. It was a picturesque scene, with the bright blue sky and the trees donning thier Autumn leaves, rich with red, orange and gold. Ty parked the car near the house and got out, I did as well, then he popped the trunk and he grabbed one of my bags, whilst I grabbed the other.

I couldn't help but smile a little as I looked around the stable yard, trying to see everything all at once, I listened as one of the horses whinnied from the pastures. I know I had already convinced myself that I wasn't going to like the place, no matter how nice it was, but I could already feel my opinion beginning to change.

A woman with long dark hair and soft features walked out of the barn, her brown gaze fell on me and Ty, and she smiled, walking over to us. It must have been Amy, she stopped near us and offered me her hand to shake, which I did.

"It's great to see you, Jess, we've heard a lot about you,"She said kindly.

"Erm..thanks,"I said, not sure of how to reply,"It's nice to meet you Amy, and I want to thank you, both of you, for letting me stay here."

"Your welcome,"Amy smiled, then turned slightly as a guy walked out of the barn, leading a Clydesdale gelding, he looked at us and paused,"I'll just put AJ in his pasture and join you inside."He said. He looked to be around sixteen or seventeen, like Ty, he had jet black hair, but it fell to the middle of his neck, his skin was tan as well, and he had soft brown eyes.

"Alright, do you need any help?"Ty asked.

The boy shook his head, his black hair hitting his cheek bones,"Nah, all the horses have been put out already, I'll be there in a minute." Then he continued on his way, AJ walking with him calmly.

Amy placed a gentle hand on my shoulder,"Well then, let's get some coffee going and get to know each other." Then before I knew it, she had steered me inside.

The kitchen was small, but cozy, the walls were an off-white, and the flooring was wooden, the four of us were gathered at the kitchen table, I was sitting between Byron and Amy, my gaze lowered at my coffee as I stirred it listlessly. I could feel everyone's gazes on me, like I was some alien that had just landed and they were trying to communicate with me. I took a deep drink of my coffee, feeling the comforting warmth as it ran down my throat. I loved coffee, even though it was bad for me and was probably stunting my growth.

"So, tell us a bit about yourself, Jess,"Amy prompted, watching me as she sipped from her mug.

I shrugged my shoulders a little, saying a little nervously,"There's nothing really to tell, I was in a dirt-biking accident almost a year ago with my brother, and now, well...here I am."

Ty offered me a gentle smile.

I tried to keep the silence from settling adding,"You have a really, really nice stable."

"Thanks,"Amy replied," Your mom was a big part of Heartland, she helped a lot of horses. I don't know what we would have done without her help."

Ty seemed to be recalling some memories and nodded in agreement.

Byron was next to ask,"Have you ridden before?"

I nodded,"My Mom took me to her friend's farm and gave me lessons, so I have some experience. She even told me about some of the remedies you use, Star of Bethlehem and..."I strained my thoughts, trying to remember,".. Lavender Oil?"

Amy nodded,"Yes, Star of Bethlehem for shock and we massage horses with Lavender Oil to calm them."

Hmm, these horses really got the care they needed, I was a bit interested in the herbal remedies, so I prompted amy,"What other remedies do you use?"

This launched the table into a conversation about the techniques that Heartland used, and -yes, I know I was _supposed_ to hate the place, but it was actually pretty interesting. It was nice to just sit and talk as well, they all seemed like really nice people. I couldn't remember the last time I'd actually had a full conversation with someone.

I had soon finished my coffee, and I was listening intently as Amy told em about some of the horses at Heartland, then she stopped, laughing a little bit to herself.

"-Wait, why am I sitting here talking about them when you could go and meet them?"She smiled a little,"Do you want me to show you around the barn?"

I could feel everyone's gaze on me once again, and I felt like dissapearing into the chair,"Erm.."I started tentatively,"That's a tempting offer, but I'm pretty tired. Would you mind if I went up and rested?"

Amy seemed a little dissapointed, but then shook her head,"No problem at all, I'll get you tomorrow morning and we can go see the horses then."

"Thanks," I smiled shyly, then got up, putting my mug in the sink, Amy did the same, then I picked up my bags and headed up the stairs, getting out of the room as quickly as possible, Amy following me closesly behind.

My room was the last one on the left, Amy opened the door and I walked in, placing my bags on the bed. The room had wood flooring, like the rest of the house, but the walls were a pale blue. On the far side of the room, resting against the wall was a twin bed with a dark wooden headboard, there was also a large dresser, the same rich wooden color, and on it rested a large mirror. The room was a nice size, not too big but not too small, I walked over to one of the windows and looked outside, I could just see the barns and one of the pastures, Ty and Byron were walking together in the stable yard, then dissapeared into the barn's wide open doors.

I smiled again, content with my room, then turned to face Amy.

"Do you want any help unpacking?"Amy asked helpfully.

"No thanks, you've been enough of a help, I think I can handle it on my own," I told her gently, I didn't want to sound like I didn't want her around or anything, but I just needed some time alone to go over my thoughts, it had been an eventful day.

Amy seemed to understand,"Alright, if you need anything I'll be back inside soon." Then with a warm smile she left the room.

I watched her go and sat on the bed for a few moments, beginning to unpack my clothes and put them in the dresser silently, going over what had happened today. I sighed a little and ran my hand along my face, finding myself looking out the window that overlooked the stable yard again. I was beginning to understand why my Mom had bubbled over Heartland so much, but would Heartland really help me face what had happened?"


	4. Chapter 4

**/.Chapter Four.\**

_The race had been long and grueling, it was the qualifieds for the County Nationals, the first twelve to cross the finish line would go to the County Nationals, and have a chance to win the cup. I knew it didn't matter if I came in first or seventh, as long as I made it to the Nationals, but if I came in first, then i could be considered a favorite to win, and that would make my Dad proud of me.I could already picture his beaming grin as I walked off the track, walking my bike the truck. That's all I wanted, to make my Dad proud. We were going into the far turn now, the crowd had gone from it's normal volume to a dull roar, growing louder as we approached the finish, it was the last lap, and Cody, Jake Salem, and I were in the lead, fighting to get ahead. I was stuck inbetween them, the worst position to be in a turn, one of us would need to pull back or pull ahead, or at least one of would crash. I wasn't going to be the one to pull back though, not yet. Cody glanced at me nervously and yelled something, I couldn't hear him over the cheering crowd and the snarling engines though._

_I was pressing him too closely into the side, he wouldn't be able to pull back quick enough if he had too. I revved the bike, slowly beginning to get ahead, I was inching past Jake now, I was going to win, I had a chance! The far turn was nearly upon us though, I was going much too fast if I was going to make it. There was no time though, suddenly Cody and I were in the far turn, I was nearly running him off of the track, my mind became suddenly frantic and I tried to slow down. It had been a big mistake though, because Jake had followed me, keeping up with the same speed._

_It had been raining earlier that day, and track was dangerously slick with mud, I suddenly felt a rouch push as Jake back tire rammed into the side of my bike, which caused me to ram into Cody's side even harder. He was pushed off of the track, the bike toppling over the turn, Cody was going to be crushed under it, I leaned to the side and tried to grab his shirt to pull him away, but he already too far out of my reach._

_My bike swerved slightly to the side from Jake's push, but regained it's balance, when I had reached out to gran Cody, my other hand had pushed the acceleration too hard. The engine snarled and I was going up the small hill that ended the turn, and then I was flying over it. No, I was falling over it, the bike had soared over the hill, and was now making it's descent from the high jump, like I was going over a ramp and was expecting a smooth landing. This landing, though, would be anything but smooth._

_The ground rushed to meet me, but the fall felt like forever and a day, I was going to land on my side, I would break my leg for sure. I could hear the crowd gasp and scream, the horrified screams from the crowd filled my mind, soon the siren of an ambulance followed. Then I gripped the handlebars and closed my eyes, bracing for impact._

When I woke up I was already sitting bolt upright in bed, my breathing was shallow and quick. I blinked and looked around the room, the darkness was complete, almost comforting. I sighed a little, trying to calm my breathing, and pushed the covers away from me, then I turned and placed my feet on the cool floor. I shivered slightly and crossed my arms, the morning air was freezing. I glanced at the digital clock, it was half past five, time to get up. I stood and walked voer to the mirror, my face was covered in cold sweat, and my eyes were red..I had been crying in my sleep. I ran my hand along my face and frowned a little.

"Just a dream, nothing more," I murmured, trying to calm myself down. My voice sounded alien in the calm silence.Although I had gone to bed at eight-thirty I didn't feel at all rested and ready to face the day. I had had the nightmares about the race before, it always had the same ending too, but I hadn't dared tell anyone, not even Christina. I thought about Cody and a lump formed in my throat.

Suddenly there was a gentle knock on the door and I could see Amy's face in the mirror, she was wearing a sweatshirt and a pair of jeans.

"Hey,"She said with a smile, but I watched it fade a little,"Are you okay?"

I turned away from the mirror so she couldn't see my face, I glanced at her over my shoulder warily,"Uhm, yeah, sure, I'll be down in a minute."

"Well, okay.."Amy said, but I could tell by her voice that she didn't fully believe me,"Just make sure you dress warmly, it's pretty cold out there."

I began to open one of my drawers, grabbing a shirt and a gray sweatshirt, along with a pair of jeans. I could feel her gaze on m back, as though trying to look _through _me, then I heard her footsteps echo down the hall. The memories of yesterday came back to me quickly as I dressed and brushed my dirty-blonde hair, and I began to think about the horses and the day ahead, but the nightmare still hung in the back of my mind like a daunting spector.

As I nearly ran down the stairs I made a not to be a bit more open with Amy, no, I wasn't going to tell her about my nightmare, or Cody or anything, but I understood she was only trying to help.

When I walked into the kitchen Amy was already putting her boots on, she nodded to another pair by the door.

"I found those in the closet yesterday, they should fit you,"She told me.

I replied with a smile and put the boots on, then stood up. They were a little big, but I could grow into them, otherwise they were perfect.

"Thanks,"I told Amy.

"No problem,"She smiled, then walked over and opened the door, I followed her silently into the cool November morning.

I walked onto the porch and paused for a moment, closing the door behind me. My gaze went from the quiet, almost silent stable yard, to the sky. When I had first woken up it had been pitch black, but now twilight was just beginning to break on the horizon, turning the deep indigo sky a light gray at the edges, becoming more lighter in shade every passing moment. Soon, gold sunshine would break through the gray, giving the world it's color once again. It was really pretty to look at, with the peaceful stable and all.

I took a deep breath, watching as it came out in a visble puff of air, it was going to be a rough Winter this year, it had been all over the weather lately.

"Jess,"Amy was standing near the barn, looking at me.

I could feel a slight blush begin to creep up into my face,"Sorry!"I called, then jumped the porch steps, running over to meet her.

"How are you holding up?"

I paused slightly in spreading the straw evenly on the stall floor to make a nice, deep bed. I moved my bangs out of my eyes with the back of my hand, looking over my shoulder.

Ty was standing in the aisle, holding the handles of a full wheelbarrow, he looked at me and offered me a smile.

"You're doing great for your first time."He said, looking over the stall himself,"When you're done would you mind grooming AJ and Blackie? They're in the first two stalls on the left."

"Sure, no problem,"I told him, I didn't mind the work that much, actually -okay, I'll admit it- it was actually kind of nice being around the horses.

"Thanks,"Ty said, then continued down the barn aisle.

I turned and finished up spreading the straw, then I leaned the pitchfork against the wall, scrutininzing my handy-work. Then I grabbed the pitchfork, along with the buckets and walked down the hall, stopping at the feed room to put the pitchfork away. I walked out of the barn doors and into the morning sunlight, stopping at the water tap. I turned the water on and began to scrub the buckets, the sunlight warming my back a little as I worked. I couldn't believe it was almost nine o'clock, the morning had passed by in a blur.

Ty and Byron had already done most of the feeds by the time Amy and I had gotten to the barn, so I helped her fill the haynets, and afterwards she gave me a quick tour of the barns, showing me where the tack room was and where the paddock assignments were. She explained the feeding chart to me, and then she taught me how to muck a stall, helping me with the first one. Then I had done two more stalls by myself, at some point during all the hustle and bustle Byron had left for school, leaving just Amy, Ty and I.

By now, the pasture assignments were shifting, and the horses were being brought in to be groomed. I rinsed out the both the buckets, then brought them back to the stall. Afterwards I grabbed a grooming kit and headed off to AJ's stall.

I walked voer to the stall warily, watching as the Cyldesdale gelding stuck his noble head over the half door and his nares flared softly. His ears were pricked forward wit interest, and there was an inquisitive glint in his dark eyes as he reached out farther.

I stepped forward and let him sniff my hand, feeling his whiskers tickle my palm. I smiled a little as he pushed his nose against my palm.

"Okay, okay, I'll give you some attention,"I murmured softly, stroking his muzzle," But don't get used to it."

AJ snorted softly, shaking his black mane.

"Very funny," I commented as I slipped into his stall and stroked his neck, then I took out the curry comb and ran it along his back and side, and then over his hindquarters.

AJ was a giant compared to me, standing at a full seventeen hands, whilst I'm only five foot four, people keep telling me that coffe stunts your growth, but I wouldn't give up coffee for _anything_. Soon I moved onto the soft brush, going over his neck, back and legs until his chestnut coat glistened slightly in the light that streamed from the window in the back of the stall. AJ let out a soft sigh in enjoyment and swished his tail slightly, loving the attention.

I looked at the gentle giant and couldn't help but smile a little myself.

After I finished grooming Blackie I walked back to the tack room to return the grooming kit, walking calmly down the barn aisle. I paused slightly though, seeing someone standing in one of the stalls. I walked closer to the half door and looked in; Amy was standing next to a gray mare, moving her fingers in small circles over the mare's back and neck.

The mare was standing quietly, her head lowered slightly and her ears drooping, her eye-lids were slightly closed, peacefully dozing off. Amy seemed to be relaxed as well, and completely absorbed in her work, she didn't even realize that I was watching. I decided to leave her alone, I began to walk away but then I heard Amy's voice.

"Is something up?"She asked, looking at me, she had stopped moving her fingers, but her hands were still resting on the mare's back.

I stopped and then stepped back,"Oh, no, everything's fine. I was just wondering what you were doing."

I expected her to simply reply, 'Oh, alright,' and continue with her work, like others had done when I was around, but instead she did quite the opposite.

Amy motioned to come in,"Come here, and I'll show you."

I paused, but then put the grooming kit down and slipped into the stall, the mare glanced at me warily, but otherwise didn't move. Amy looked at me and then began to move her fingers in circles over the mare again, moving along slowly.

"This," She explained,"Is T-touch, it relaxes the horses and it also helps build thier trust."Then she took my hand, pressing index and middle finger near the mare's whithers.

"You just move your fingers in small circles slowly over the horse's neck, back, and ears. It's a bit like a massage," Amy continued.

I frowned a little, watching Amy, then I moved my fingers in the same motion as hers. The both of us simply stood in silence for a while, concentrating on our work, I became so absorbed in moving my figners that soon I didn't even notice that Amy had moved away.

The mare sighed slightly and swished her tail gently, I could feel her muscles relax a bit more, and I smiled once again.

"Good job,"Amy said,"Just try moving your fingers a bit slower."

I did as Amy said, and I simply practiced for a few moments more, but then I became still as I heard the engine of a truck and the clink of a trailer pulling down the drive.

Amy looked at me,"That must be Tex, let's go."

I slipped out of the stall with her and we walked out of the barn into the early afternoon sunshine, watching as a large blue pick-up parked near the barn, a silver trailer attached to the back.

A man in his thirties got out of the truck, stepping lightly in clean horseboots on the dirt drive, he looked at Amy and smiled,"There's the miracle worker!"

"Hello, Nick,"Amy replied with the same smile, they briefly shook hands, then amy looked at me and smiled again.

"Jess, this is Nick Halliwell, we've been working with his horses for years."

Nick Halliwell! I'd heard of him when I was younger, he was practically a show-jumping legend.

"It's nice to meet you,"I said.

"The pleasure is all mine,"He replied.

A loud whinny and the sound of clashing hooves broke up the firnedly meeting, though.

"I'm guessing the trip wasn't very quiet,"Amy said distractedly, watching the trailer.

Nick smiled sadly and shook his head,"No, it wasn't. He's been jumping around in there for most of the ride here. He's a bit of a fiesty horse, if you get my drift. I checked out his last owners and they didn't seem at all abusive, they own a local riding stable."

"Hmm, well, let's just concentrate on getting him in his stall first,"Then, lead rope in hand, Amy walked over to the side door of the trailer and dissapeared inside, whilst Nick and I walked to the back of the trailer and lowered the ramp.

Within a few moments a red roan gelding came trotting down the ramp, his head held high. Amy walked him down quickly, then circled him a couple of times to calm him down.

Tex snorted and tossed his head, but calmed his pace considerably.

"He's beautiful,"I commented, watching Tex.

Nick nodded,"Thanks, you should see him in action, if only we could get a saddle on him."

While Amy walked into the barn, Nick and I closed up the trailer, then followed her to Tex's stall.

The gelding went into the stall quietly and began to munch on the haynet. We all watched him silently for a few moments, then Amy slipped out of the stall and stood with us, looking at Nick.

"Is there any medical history that you think might have affected his back?"She asked.

Nick shook his head,"There's an odd bite on the inside of his leg, but I don't see how that would affect his back."

Amy frowned a little, deep in thought.

"I hate to break up our little reunion so quickly Amy, but I have to run, there's a show going on and I have to go pick up some of my students,"Nick frowned.

"Oh, no worries Nick, it was great to see you again,"Amy smiled.

"See ya,"Nick said, then turned and walked out of the barn.

We watched him leave for a few moments, then Amy took a small bottle out of her pocket and poured a couple of drops into Tex's water.

"Star Of Bethlehem,"She explained, stepping away to let Tex drink.

I could hear Nick pulling out of the drive, but I heard a car honk and another car pull up in the drive. A few moments afterwards I heard a car door slam and soon Byron walked down the abrn aisle, his black hair shining. He stopped next to me, looking in at Tex and Amy.

"Sorry to interupt..."Byron said, glancing at Amy," But I was wondering what you need help with."

"Hmm..." Amy murmured, thinking,"Well, most of the horses have been groomed...The chores are pretty much done. actually, I think we have just enough time for a trail ride, and a couple of the horses need exercise. I'd like to go, but Ty needs someone here to hold down the fort, maybe you could show Jess the trails."

Byron shrugged his shoulders and said, still smiling,"Sounds good to me."

I cut in smoothly though, not even thinking,"Uhm, thanks, but I think I'll pass."

Amy turned to look at me,"Oh come on, you should go. The weather won't be this nice for much longer."

"Don't worry, I don't bite,"Byron joked.

"No, I just don't think I should.."I said, trying to talk myself out of this, I looked at Amy,"You two can go ahead, I haven't ridden in a while, and I could finish up grooming the horses. I don't mind staying here."

Amy looked like she might try to prompt me more, but she tried to smile slightly,"Well..alright, if you're sure.."

"I'm sure,"I nodded.

Byron's deep brown gaze traveled from me to Amy, he kept his voice light,"Alright, well I'll go get Tiara and Lido from the pasture." Then he left without another word.

Amy watched me for a few moments, as though debating whether to try to convince me or not,"Okay, we should be back within an hour. Ty is in the arena working with AJ."

I gave her a reassuring smile as she walked out of the stall, then, wanting to dissapear as quickly as I could, I picked up the grooming kit I had left out and headed off to the tack room.

I just wasn't ready to go riding, it was too soon. They couldn't expect me to just spend one day here and start riding again. I knew Amy was only trying to help, but I had to draw the line. After Amy and Byron left, I groomed the gray mare, Daisy, and another horse, Apache. When I was finished I helped Ty bring in a few horses from the pasture, then there wasn't much left to do, so I went into the tack room and started cleaning the saddles.

Soon Amy walked in, taking a large book off of one of the shelves, she looked through the pages, pausing a few moments to read. I was quiet for a while, simply cleaning the saddle, and I couldn't help but feel bad, I hadn't meant to snub Amy or anything.

"What are you doing?"I asked.

Amy glanced at me,"Oh, just looking for a couple of herbal rememdies that might help Tex."

I sighed then began to apalogize,"I'm sorry about the whole trail-ride thing earlier, I didn't mean to snub you or anything, I just don't think I'm ready to go riding yet."

She looked up from her book and smiled a little, her eyes holding understanding,"It's okay Jess, I understand. I know that things have been rough for you lately, with your brother and then your mom."

I stayed quiet, feeling a little uncomfortable. The memories of the nightmare that had been dormant for the whole day began to creep into my thoughts.

Amy continued,"I just want you to feel at home, I know what it's like to lose someone. So, if you ever need to talk, I'll listen."

I felt a small smile form on my features,"Thanks, Amy."

She shrugged, grinning a little,"What are friends for?"

And for the first time in a long time, I felt like someone might actually want to listen to what I had to say.


	5. Chapter 5

**/.Chapter Five.\**

I ran down the stairs two at a time, nearly tripping and falling flat on my face, but I quickly regained myself, grabbing my purse on the kitchen table. Amy was standing at the counter, pouring a cup of coffee. A loud honk could be heard from outside, I groaned as I pulled on my jacket, jogging towards the door.

Amy looked at me, smiling,"Good luck."

"Thanks,"I called over my shoulder as I ran outside and down the porch steps, not pausing to admire the morning sky.

Byron's car was parked near the house, the engine running, he was sitting in the driver's seat, letting his fingers drum on the steering wheel as he watched me, an amused smirk on his handsome features.I opened the car door and got in, after I closed it and buckled my seatbelt I looked at him.

"I'm glad you find me amusing,"I muttered, brushing my bangs away from my eyes, something that I did constantly, my bangs were pretty long, almost reaching the tip of my nose, but I would never cut them too short or grow them out, my hair had always been long.

Byron chuckled a little as he began to pull out of the drive,"Good morning to you too."

Today was my first day of school at Little River High. Was I excited, nervous, scared for my life? The answer to that would be; none of the above. Honestly, school didn't really affect me one way or the other, to me it just meant homework and tests. Not that I hated school, or anything, but I wasn't neccesarily crazy about it, either. Before I had come to Heartland, it hadn't been going too smoothly, though. My grades had dropped from _A_s to _C_s and _D_s, believe me, when you have at least eight teachers getting on you about your school work, it can be a real pain in the you-know-what. My social status hadn't been too hot either, after the whole fight thing, not that I really cared, I wasn't popular, actually I didn't really have any friends.

I had hated my last school, I had never been in contact with so many jerks in my life. Everyone had been concerned with thier 'image', lost off in thier own little worlds- it was kind of upsetting how vain some of the people were, actually. Little River High would be my third school in one year.

I didn't really care to make an impression or anything like that, I had put on my Converses, a pair of dark jeans, along with a white shirt and a jacket, my hair was pulled back in a messy bun. I wasn't the type who was overly concerned with my appearance, I didn't have anyone to impress.

The silence had settled between me and Byron for a few moments, then I decided to strike up a conversation,"I saw you and Lido yesterday, you guys looked amazing."

I really meant it too, I had been grooming AJ yesterday afternoon, his stall window faced the training arena, and I had seen Byron and his gelding, Lido, a black Hanoverian, jumping. No, jumping was an understatement -_flying_ over the jumps. They hadn't been simple cross-rails either, Byron had set up an actual course, making a couple of double oxers and a swedish oxer. A couple of them had been a bit over three feet, and I couldn't help but be a bit envious of Byron's skill.

He looked like he was _born_ to jump, and Lido had been enjoying himself as well.

A small grin spread across Byron's features, but he kept his eyes on the road,"Thanks. We were practicing for the Beaumont Show this weekend."

"I doubt you two will have any competition,"I said, glancing at him with interest,"Where did you learn to jump like that?"

Byron only kept smiling, his brown eyes met mine for a couple of moments before looking at the road again,"A few great trainers, my mom, mostly, and Lido, of course."

I nodded a little, listening, then turned my gaze to the window, watching as the trees passed by, the orange and red foliage blurring together. Soon we pulled into the parking lot and got out, walking up to the front doors, students filed inside quickly.

Little River High was a brick building, smaller than my last two schools, with nice landscaping; the halls were lined with lockers on both sides, the floors shining slightly from the flourescent lights above. It was the home of the mighty Knights, whom had an amazing football team that had been County champs for a consecutive five years, despite the intimidating size the other high schools. It had a Drama, Math and Chess club, along with seasonal fundraisers, and yet the faculty still threatened the students with having thier prom in the gym.

I walked with Byron to the office, where on of the secretaries handed me my schedule and locker number, along with the combination.

"Do you need any help getting to your class?"Byron asked helpfully.

I looked up from my schedule at Byron and gave him a smile,"I'll think I'll be alright, thanks."

"Okay, well I'll see you at lunch, you can sit with me if you want,"He said kindly.

"Thanks, I'll see you then,"I smiled, touched by Byron's kindness.

He gave me a warm smile before walking out of the office and to his class. I walked out of the office as well, finding my home room within a few minutes, like I said before, it wasn't a big school.

I sighed slightly, looking at the wooden door as I reached out for the handle,"Well, here goes nothing,"I muttered under my breath, then I walked inside.

The classroom was fairly big, and there weren't too many students. Instead of desks there were two students seated to a table, since it was biology. The teacher was standing near the board, a man in his late thirties, he had a full head of blonde hair and wore wire framed glasses. Apparently I had walked in on some discussion, because the teacher suddenly stopped talking and looked at me, the students looked like they were sleeping with thier eyes open though.

"Oh,"The teacher, Mr. Hill, said as he glanced at the note I gave him, he adjusted his glasses slightly,"Well, just take a seat, Jess."

Thankful that I didn't have to make some little introductory speech or anything, I walked to the back of the room and sat next to a girl with bright red hair, which fell in curls around her shoulders. She wore black framed glasses, behind them were a pair of bright green eyes which stood out brilliantly against her red hair and pale skin.

She glanced at me as I sat down but didn't say anything. Mr. Hill continued with his discussion about molecules. Within a few moments I had let my mind wander, but I did try to listen, I began to think about Heartland, and wonder what Amy was doing.

My thoughts were interrupted though as there was a knock on the door and another teacher stuck her head in, motioning for Mr.Hill to come closer. He did, and I quirked an eyebrow slightly as they exchanged a few words.

Mr. Hill then turned to face the class,"I have to step out for a few moments, I want everyone to stay in thier seats and begin reading Chapter Three, I'll be back in a few minutes."

With that, he left the room. As soon as the door closed, it seemed a switch had flipped and students turned in thier seats and began talking to each other. Some teachers were so naive, thinking the students would actually do the work while they were gone.

I sighed slightly and stetched my arms,muttering,"Please don't tell me all the teachers are like that."

The girl looked at me and smiled slightly,"Most of them are alright, as long as you do the homework they stay off your back,"She paused, watching me carefully,"You're Jess, right?"

I nodded in reply to her question.

The girl smiled,"I'm Rachel, I live at the farm next to Heartland, Gaea Farms."

"It's nice to meet you,"I said, returning the smile.

"Same here,"Rachel said amicably," Where any of you on Clairedale Ridge trail yesterday by any chance?"

"Nope, why do you ask?"

Rachel frowned a little, thinking to herself,"That's odd. I took my horse, Charity on the trail yesterday with my brother, and we heard another horse, we thought it might have just been another rider, but you're the only other stable that shares the trail with us."

I frowned a little to myself,"That is odd,"I murmured.

Rachel nodded,"It's not the first time we've heard a horse up there either."

Our conversation continued for a while, and Rachel helped me out by showing me where my locker was, we had the same english, math, and gym class as well. As the day continued I found myself beginning to like Rachel, she was nice and pretty funny, she was also easy to talk to. She wasn't one of those types where you had to think about what you said, or act cool or anything, Rachel accepted people as they were, she didn't try to change them. That's what I admired about her the most.

I set my lunch tray down across from Rachel's as we sat down at one of the many tables in the cafeteria, Byron was sitting at the table, taking a drink from his water bottle.

"Hey Rachel,"He said, lowering his water bottle,he glanced at me,"I see you've met."

"More or less,"Rachel shrugged, smiling a little as she sat down,"Now we have someone, other than myself, that chews with thier mouth closed."

I sat down and took a bite from my sandwhich, glancing around the cafeteria, Little River High may have been small, but it still had your average high school qualities, different social groups of students were identifiable. I smiled a little, thinking I was sitting with my own 'group' as well.

Byron put up his hands in mock defense,"Hey, that's all Adam, I prefer people not to see my chewed up sandwhich."

"What are we talking about?"Another guy around the age of sixteen had put his lunch tray down at the table, he had short, spiky blonde hair and icy blue eyes, he was lean and rather tall, standing at almost six foot.

"You,"Rachel answered Adam, taking a sip from her drink.

Adam frowned a little at this, and then looked at me, then back at Rachel,"Have you been torturing her?"

Rachel acted to punch him," I have _not_ been torchering her, Jess and I have become fast friends actually."

Adam looked at me and smiled, sitting down,"Aha..new meat. Well, it's nice to meet you Jess, I'm Adam."

"Nice to meet you too,"I smiled.

"You don't talk much do you?"Rachel asked me curiously.

I shook my head a little, smiling still,"I'm not really the talkative type."

I really wasn't, I kept to myself mostly, I had never been very outgoing, but it didn't bother me that much.

"We'll change that,"Rachel grinned, taking a bite from her sandwhich.

"Don't worry about Rachel, she's crazy but she doesn't bite,"Byron reassured me.

Rachel gave him a mock glare, but then looked at me,"Hey, do you want me to drive you home? We could stop by my place and I could show you around, we could even check out Clairedale Ridge."

"That would be nice, thanks,"I smiled, then I looked at Byron,"Do you mind?"

Byron shook his head,"Not at all, just don't stay over too long, Amy and Ty are going to need our help this afternoon."

Rachel nodded, smiling a little,"Alright, cool."

After school that day I rode home with Rachel,her car was a silver Mercury, it was pretty nice. Soon we were pulling onto her long dirt drive, lined with dogwood trees in thier full Autumn color. The trees thinned within a few moments and I could see two large red barns and many white pasture fences, a bit away, sitting on a small hill was a medium sized log cabin.

Rachel parked near the barn and got out, I did the same, following her to one of the barns. I kept looking around the yard, in one of the pasture I could see some cows and sheep, but in the next paddock over, I could see a few llamas frolicking about happily.

Rachel had followed my gaze, "Yeah, you might see some odd animals around here, my mom is a vet, and she uses Gaea for a sort of animal shelter, for the bigger animals she can't keep at the office."

"Wow,"I murmured, watching as a peacock proudly strutted it's way across the yard, towards the house,"My grandma was a vet, and my mom worked at Heartland, that's kinda why I was sent there, I guess."

Rachel watched me with interest as we walked into the barn, listening intently.

I continued, averting my gaze slightly,"My brother died in a dirtbike accident last year, and my dad thought I'd need some down time."

Rachel frowned a little, her gaze concerned,"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that Jess, it's hard to lose someone."

She seemed to sense my discomfort and thankfully didn't say anything more.

The barn was lined with large box stalls on each side, I followed Rachel down the barn aisle, watching as cows and a couple of horses stuck thier heads over the doors, watching us with interest. Rachel walked to the back to the barn, sliding open a wooden door which led into a feed room.

She glanced over the feeding chart, then looked at me,"Would you mind helping me feed some of the animals in the barn first? Then we can take Charity and Ace out on the trail."

I felt the old nerves come back up about riding, but I did my best to push them away,"Yes, I would very much mind."I said jokingly, then picked up a flake of hay, as did Rachel, and we walked out of the feed room.

The feeds didn't take us that long, it was only a couple of the cows and sheep that needed to be fed when Rachel got home from school. I thought Heartland was a lot of work, I couldn't imagine getting up at five o'clock in the morning to feed the animals, and then have to come back to the barn numerous times a day to feed them specific medication, not to mention help her dad out with his crops. Still though, Rachel was pretty lucky, and I could tell she really enjoyed being around the animals.

When we were finished we walked into the second barn, almost immediately after we walked in, a palomino mare stuck her head over her stall door and whinnied loudly, seeing Rachel.

Rachel smiled,"Alright, alright, calm your jets, you'll be out of there in a second, girl."

We paused near her stall, I let the mare sniff my hand, feeling her blow warm air onto my palm, then I stroked her face. There was an intelligent spark in her brown eyes.

"She's a sweetheart,"I told Rachel.

"Thanks,"Rachel smiled," I've had Charity for years, my dad gave her to me when I was ten."

"Charity,"I murmured, watching as the mare nuzzled Rachel's arm affectionately,"It suits her."

Rachel looked at me and grinned, then walked over to the next stall,"This is Ace, and he will be your trusty steed for the day."

I followed Rachel and looked in the stall, a large chestnut gelding stood inside, dozing quietly.

"Can't you just see all the energy ready to burst out of him?"Rachel joked,"He's pretty easy in the saddle, so you won't have anything to worry about."

Ace's ears suddenly flicked and his eyes opened, he snorted softly and walked up to us, nudging Rachel to see if she had any treats.

"Later, boy,"Rachel said, then I followed her to the tack room.

"When was the last time you were in a saddle?"Rachel asked, she was a bit up ahead, standing quietly with Charity, looking back at Ace and I.

I put my left foot in the stirrup and grabbed onto the saddle horn, then with a small push I swung my leg over and sat up tall, adjusting Ace's reins. The gelding stood patiently, as if knowing I hadn't ridden in a while and I was pretty rusty. I gently squeezed my legs and Ace walked up to Charity and Rachel.

"Oh, only about five years or so..."I answered, smiling a little.

"It'll all come back to you,"Rachel smiled back, Charity walked alongside Ace, her mouth playing with the bit. We were walking alongside the wheatfield now, or what was the wheatfield, since it was late November everything had been harvested, and a large dirt square had replaced the nodding golden stalks of wheat. We would be off of the property in a few minutes, and going onto the path that led to Claire Ridge trail.

"Did your mom teach you how to ride?"Rachel asked.

I nodded, the memory of Domino and my mom coming back to me,"Yeah, she would bring me to one of her friend's farms and she would give me lessons, she said that horses were 'in my blood' because her parents owned a stable in Canada, I stopped when I was eleven though."

"My dad taught me how to ride, he used to compete in rodeos, so I started riding when I was five, and I started competing when I was eight. Rodeo is really a lot of fun, Charity loves it. My dad brought me down to a sales yard for my birthday and I saw Chairty, and well, it was love at first sight."Rachel told me,"My grandparents originally bought Gaea, and we've had it ever since."

I listened intently to Rachel, we had turned onto the trail a few minutes ago, and were now walking on the winding dirt path, lined with fallen leaves. Trees towered high above us, but by now thier branches were mostly bare, letting the afternoon sunlight flood onto us. The woods were peaceful and quiet, a few weeks ago I never would have thought I'd be here, riding a horse on a trail with an actual friend, I couldn't help but smile at the thought.

"What classes do you compete in?"I asked Rachel with interest as the path turned to the left.

"Mostly barrel racing, and some roping,"Rachel answered, stroking Charity's neck,"We've been doing barrels for a while, so now I'm trying to train her for roping as well."

"Cool,"I said, I had never been to an actual rodeo, but I had seen a few on television, and both roping and barrel racing looked pretty difficult, but fun as well.

Suddenly Ace had halted, I brought myself away from the conversation and realized that the trail had ended, we were now standing at a road, a car passed by, slowing down as the driver saw us.

"I'll lead the way, there isn't that much traffic on this road, so there isn't anything to worry about, just stay to the side and follow me,"Rachel told me gently, then she clicked her tongue and Charity walked ahead, her hooves clip-clopping on the road.

Ace watched her tentively, but with a gentle urge and some confident words he followed Charity along the road. We walked on the road for a few moments, soon there was a small turn off and the dirt path appeared again, Rachel turned Charity onto it, and Ace followed.

Instead of once again being engulfed by trees though, we went up a small hill and a clearing layed spread out below us. It wasn't filled with lush grass though, it was overgrown with weeds and tall brush, ferns nodded slightly in the November breeze. At the end of the clearing was a small white house with black shingles, the paint was chipping away in numerous places, and ivy had grown along the side and up the chimney, attempting to engulf the house. Part of the chimney had fallen in, the red bricks were faded and covered in moss, the roof was slowly rotting away, moss and decaying leaves obcursing it's black surface. Many of the windows had been broken as well.

Near the house was an old pick-up, it's white paint rusted and it's tires covered in vines, it's engine probably hadn't started in ages. Closest to us was a medium sized shed, the sides the color of rust and vines growing on the roof. Beyond all of this were trees, the place had clearly been abondoned ages ago.

There was a bad air about the place, that I just didn't like. I know how corny this must sound, but I felt like someone was watching us, like someone didn't want us around. I shivered slightly, but it wasn't from the sudden cool breeze that had blown back my hair.

Rachel seemed to share my feelings,"Yeah, it is pretty creepy. Watch where you step, there could be broken glass, and I found some barbed wire the last time I was here."

We both dismounted and tied Ace and Charity up to a tree, makign sure there was no broken glass or poisonous plants around.

Rachel and I picked our way carefully through the brush, I stopped suddenly, looking at the ground carefully. The soil had been turned up in some spots, and rather erratically, the indents that would be left when a horse was galloping, and they looked pretty fresh.

I pointed them out to Rachel,"There must have been another horse up here sometime today."

She nodded gravely," But why would a rider gallop there horse through this brush? It's dangerous."

She definitely had a point, I racked my thoughts," Maybe the horse freaked out. Or the rider was inexperienced."

"It's feasible," Rachel said, thinking,"But why would another rider come all the way up here? We're the only barns that share this trail."

"Good point,"I replied, trying to think of reasons why these marks would be here, and who had caused them. After a few moments we continued to walk towards the house, and the brush became less dense and easier to walk through. I looked up at the house warily, it's gaping windows seeming to grimace at me.

"..Unless,"Rachel spoke,"The horse didn't have a rider."

I tore my gaze away from the house and looked at her, quirking an eyebrow slightly. There were dozens of reasons that could dismiss this idea, but there dozens of reasons that supported it as well.

"But, would the horse be freaked out by the road?"I asked curiously.

"Maybe it's used to cars. Someone could have just dropped it off here, there's shelter for it,"Rachel said, looking at the shed.

I paused, looking at the shed intently, Rachel, once again, did have a point. I could almost imagine someone pulling up on the road late one night, opening their trailer, and just leaving thier horse here.

"Well.."I sighed,"There's only one way to find out."

Then I began to pick my way through the brush again, walking towards the shed. Rachel watched me for a few moments, then quickly followed. Suddenly we both stopped as we heard some movement from inside the shed. I opened my eyes wider in slight surprise, then I looked at Rachel and put my finger to my lips. She nodded and we both walked more cautioustly towards the shed, it loomed closer and more forboding every moment.

What if there _was_ a horse inside? What would it look like? I doubted it would be healthy, how long had it been here? Weeks, months? Months without proper care, without being fed, without being groomed? Without being cared and loved by someone?

I had seen shows on _Animal Planet_ about abused animals, how they had been simply left outside without food or water, in the heat, in the snow. I remembered what some of the animals had looked like, what some of the horses had looked like. I could remember being able to see all of thier ribs, thier once muscular necks and legs reduced to nothing more than skinny twigs, the way thier once shining coats and full manes and tails were nothing more than matted fur. I could remember the lifeless looks in thier clouded eyes, there had been no glint of light, of happiness, of hope. Nothing but paralyzed fear.

That's when I began to feel angry, no _furious_ with this mysterious owner that would carelessly leave thier horse here to fend for itself in the cold month of November, and then leave without a second thought. Along with this rage though I felt fear, fear to see the true horror of what this horse looked like after weeks, maybe months without being taken care of.

By now, Rachel and I were nearly at the entrance of the shed, slinking silently, ghost like, along the side. All I had to do now was turn my head and look inside the gaping darkness and see the cruelty of humans.

I hadn't realized until just then that my heart was pounding in my chest and my breathing was a little loud, I realized half a moment later that Rachel's breathing was heavy as well. I steadied my breath, then turned my head and looked inside.

But suddenly something small shot out from the shed, taking off into the sky. I swear I could have died just then, I must have jumped at least five feet and let out a little scream. Then I got a hold of my nerves, realizing it had just been a bird that had flown out of the shed. I took a deep breath and looked at Rachel, her expression was surprised. I shook my head and then I did something amazing, I began to laugh, and within a few moments so did she.

We simply stood there laughing for a couple of minutes, and I can't possibly put into words how good it felt to laugh. I can't remember the last time I had honestly laughed about something, it must have been sometime before Cody's accident, because afterwards there hadn't been anything to laugh or be happy about. It felt like some small weight had been pulled off of my shoulders, like I had in someway cleansed myself of something. I think one of the reasons it felt good to laugh was because my laughter was joined with someone else's.

Soon I stopped and so did Rachel, I egan to get my breath back, saying,"..That scared me..half to death."

Rachel sighed,"I can see that, it got me there for a minute too."She looked at me and smiled happily, and I smiled back.

I looked in the shed once again, there wasn't anything in there, only some decaying straw littered on the floor, and it smelled horribly. But there was another scent mixed with the decaying straw, and it's cause was piled in the corner of the shed. Rachel saw it too and became silent. It was a small pile of horse manure, complete proof that somewhere around here there _was_ a horse.

I turned my gaze away from the shed and met Rachel's green eyes, her expression reflected mine, dead serious. I let out a steady breath and then looked at the trees beyond the shed, and it might have just been my mind playing tricks on me, but I doubt it was. Somewhere deep in those treesI could just see a large form of white, cantering away.


	6. Chapter 6

**//.Chapter Six.\\**

I didn't get home from Rachel's until five o'clock, when most of the afternoon chores had been finished, the only thing left to do was bring the horses in and prepare the evening feeds. I also had some homework to do, but geometry was nowhere amongst my thoughts. I was still thinking about what had happened at Clairedale Ridge, Rachel had asked me if I could hang out the next day after school so we could go and try to find the horse, but I said I'd let her know tomorrow at lunch.

When I had walked in Amy was sitting at the kitchen table, a cup of coffee and a catalogue for wedding dresses in front of her. She looked at me and then glanced at the clock, I knew right then that I was going to get a lecture.

"I'm sorry I came back so late, I didn't keep track of the time.."I trailed off, I knew excuses wouldn't help, but I _had_ apologized.

Amy looked away from the magazine and watched as I walked over ot the table and set my textbooks down, sitting across from her I began to open my geometry book. We had been assigned to do seven problems on Proofs, oh joy.

I looked away from the book and at Amy, she looked tired, and worried, I felt a bit guilty.

"I just wish you would have called _me_ first and let me know where you were going, this way I could have told you what time to be back," Amy told me,"Just next time, ask me, okay?"

"Okay,I'm sorry,"I told Amy sincerely," You seem kinda down, is something up?"

Amy glanced down at the catalogue,"Oh, it's just that the wedding is kinda stressful, I finally got all the save-the-date cards back, Ty and I want to have the wedding here, so we've been looking at tents too. There hasn't been any progress with Tex yet, I still can't figure out what might have truamatized him. Between the wedding and the horses there just isn't enough time in the day."

I watched Amy, listening to her and I tried my best to give her a smile," Well, as for the wedding, if you need any help with invitations or anything like that I'd be happy to help, and I'll take some more chores in the barn this way you can work with Tex and the other horses."

I felt inclined to help Amy, she was letting me stay here, after all.

A small smile formed on her features,"Thanks, Jess."

I shrugged a little and began to start my homework,"What are friends for?"

Later that evening I helped bring in the horses, and went into the feed room, beginning to start the feeds early. I did Byron's share of the feeds as well, feeling a little bad that I had went over Rachel's and had left him with more work to do. After I finished handing out the feeds I paused by Lido's stall, his tack was sitting on the door, and Byron was standing inside with him, rushing to finish grooming.

"You don't have to rush, I did your share of the feeds,"I said, watching Byron.

He stopped grooming and looked at me,"Huh?"

I sighed slightly and reapeated my sentence,"I did your share of the feeds."

"Oh,"Byron said, he blinked, then looked at me and smiled,"Thanks."

"Don't worry about it, I went over Rachel's and you had to do some of my chores, so I'd might as well return the favor."

Byron stroked Lido's neck and gave me another smile.

I returned the smile, but more hesitantly, and then continued walking down the barn aisle.

Ty was carrying a few haynets already, he had stopped and had been watching me and Byron.

I looked at him curiously and quirked an eyebrow slightly,"What?"

"Nothing,"He said, then he kept walking. He looked as if he was trying not to smile though.

Well, _some_ people are acting peculiar.

I helped Ty finish handing out the hay nets, then I stopped by Tex's stall and rested my elbows on the door, simply watching him for a while, going through my own thoughts. The gelding glanced at me curiously, but went back to pulling at his hay net. I looked over his confirmation, his arched neck, his powerful hindquarters, the long legs. He was an amazing show horse, I could just imagine him in the arena. But why wouldn't he let ayone near him with a saddle?

Soon, Tex became bored with his hay net and walked over to me, pushing his nose against my chest.

"Hey there,"I murmured, stroking his velvety muzzle. His ears flickered at the sound of my voice and whickered softly. Tex clearly wasn't _afraid_ of people, he was fine when being handled. But what was the problem then? What was he scared of?

If only horses could talk.

Or maybe they could.

My gaze lingered on the odd bite mark on Tex's leg, hmm...I remembered the peacock that had been walking around Rachel's yard. And that is when I got an idea. Yep, you read that right, _I_ got an_ idea_. Who woulda thought?

It wasn't completely planned out though, just an idea, a guess, so don't get excited. I'd need to verify it first, and for this I'd need to ask Rachel at school tomorrow.

"Is something wrong?"Amy asked, she was carrying some herbal remedies in her hands.

I turned to look at her,"..I don't know, I need to make sure first."

In reply to this she gaze me a puzzled look, but before she could say anything I walked out of the barn. My mind was whirring with thoughts now, and for the first time for as long as I can remember, I was actually looking forward to going to school tomorrow.

"Rachel, I need to talk to you,"It was the next day at lunch, I put my tray down and sat down across from Rachel, whom had just put down her drink.

Byron looked at me curiously, and then Adam said with a mouth full of pizza,

"What happened Lassie, did Timmy fall down the well again?"

I took one of my fries and threw it at him jokingly. Rachel watched with mild amusement,

"Shoot."

"Well,"I began, glancing at Byron," You know about the new horse we got, Tex?"

Rachel nodded, Byron and Adam were listening intently now.

"He has this wierd bite mark on his leg, and I think it might have to do with why he won't let anyone tack him up,"I continued," Do you let dogs wander around the farm?"

Rachel shook her head," No, the dogs might attack the animals, and plus some of the animals we have are scared of dogs."

Byron was catching on,"So you think a dog must have bitten Tex?"

I nodded,"It's too big for anything else, but more specfically, it's when he was bitten."

Adam added to the conversation,"You're suggesting that Tex was bitten when he was being tacked up?"

Rachel was quiet, then nodded,"Dog bites can be very traumatizing to horses. If Tex was bitten at a young age, then he'd assosciate being bitten with being tacked up."

Bryon was smiling now,"If the dog came up from behind him, then he might not have seen the dog at all, so Tex would assosciate the pain with the tack, and he'd lose trust in his owner."

"Wouldn't the owner know that though?"Adam asked curiously.

"Some people won't keep thier patience with horses that don't want to be tacked up, so the owner must ave dropped him off at an Auction without fully giving his medical history,"I explained.

"So someone, or Nick, in this case, would buy Tex without knowing about the dog bite,"Rachel finished, smiling,"It's definitely possible."

" It wouldn't be about Tex's back or girth, it's mental,"I said, nodding.

Byron was grinning, watching me,"Good job, Jess. We'll tell Amy and Ty when we get back, and then we'll ask Scott if he can come over and look at the bite."

I looked at him and smiled,"Thanks."

I'd had an idea, and a good one at that. See? Miracles do happen.

"Oh,"Rachel said, suddenly remembering,"Did you ask Amy if you could come over today?"

I frowned a little,"Nah, I can't, I'm sorry. You can go ahead though, if you find anything you can call me."

Adam quirked an eybrow slightly,"Um, care to explain?"

"They're girls, even if they explain it won't make sense,"Byron joked.

Adam laughed, but Rachel made as if to push Byron.

I decided to explain,"Rachel and I went up to Clairedale Ridge yesterday, and we have proof that there's a horse up there."

"Did you see it?"Byron asked, his eyebrows raised in surprise.

"No, but know it's there,"Rachel said.

Adam shivered a little, thinking about Clairedale Ridge,"That place is creepy."

"I agree,"I muttered, thinking of the dilapidated house.

"Maybe the horse got loose,"Byron suggested.

Adam shook his head,"Nope, my dad is chief of the police force, and there haven't been any reports on missing horses."

"Someone must have left him there,"Rachel frowned, seeming to have the same thoughts that I'd had yesterday about a neglected horse.

Byron nodded gravely, then his brown eyes met mine,"We should tell Amy."

I nodded in agreement, but it seemed that afternoon, we wouldn't have to tell Amy at all.

"Yep, it's definitely a dog bite,"Scott said, standing up fully. I was standing near Tex, holding his halter while Scott had been inspecting the bite, Tex side-stepped nervously as Scott moved away, as if relieved that Scott had left his leg alone. I murmured quietly to Tex and stroked his muzzle.

Ty was standing just outside the stall, watching silently.

Scott looked at me and smiled,"Good thinking."

Byron gave me a thumbs-up sign from behind Ty, I looked at him and smiled.

Amy walked back over to the stall, nodding,"Nick says that he bought Tex anonymously from an auction. It's definitely possible."

Ty watched Tex carefully,"We should give him mimulus to help him get over his fear, a jar of geranium scented oil wouldn't hurt, either."

Scott nodded,walking out of the stall,"That would definitely help."

"Would you like to come inside for some coffee?"Amy asked Scott.

"Really, I think we've left Lou inside for too long, who knows what she's up to,"Ty joked.

Amy looked at Byron and I,"Are you guys coming?"

"I think I'll stay out here for a bit,"I replied, stroking Tex's neck.

Byron nodded in agreement,"Same here."

"Alright, but don't stay out too long,"Amy said with a smile, and then the three of them walked out of the barn.

I walked out of Tex's stall, looking at Byron,"So do you think I'm fitting in?"

Bryon shrugged,"Oh..I don't know, more or less."He smirked jokingly.

"Gee, thanks,"I replied, walking down the barn aisle with him. The barn was quiet and peaceful, almost comforting.

"Do you like Heartland?"Byron asked, watching me calmly.

" 'Oh..I don't know, more or less' ," I mimicked his answer, grinning a little, but then I said,"Actually, at first I had my doubts, but it's alright."

Our eyes met for a few moments, and that's when I realied how dark Byron's eyes were, they were deep, calm. He began to say something, but then Amy came running to the barn.

"Byron, Jess! Grab a lead rope, we need to go, now!"

And that's how it all began.

Within a few minutes Byron and I had gotten into the car with Amy, a trailer hitched to the back, and we pulled onto the road. Scott had gotten into his jeep and was following us quickly.

"What's going on?"I asked, looking over at Amy, I was nervous, almost scared. I had never seen Amy look so anxious before.

"Your friend, Rachel, just called, she had been riding her horse on the trail and she found a horse tangled up in barbed wire,"Amy explained, keeping her determined gaze on the road.

I became silent and exchanged glances with Byron, I should have known, I just hoped we'd make it in time.

Soon we came onto the road that was alongside Clairedale Ridge, and Amy turned right, going off the road and onto the grass, the area where I was guessing there had been a driveway years ago. We bumped along the grass, and soon Amy turned off the engine and quickly got out. Byron and I did the same, Scott got out the jeep, grabbing a first-aid kit, he went jogging over to where a woman with red hair, Rachel's mom, was kneeling. Thier backs were to us though.

I could see Rachel standing off to the side with Charity, her arms folded, watching her mom, Scott and Amy, I could read the concern and sadness in her eyes. Then she saw us and gave a weak smile.

I walked over to her with Byron, stroking Charity's neck. Part of me didn't want to look over at the group, I didn't want to see the horse laying down in the brush, it's legs entangled with barbed wire, but I looked anyways.

It was the most beautiful mare I had ever seen, which made her fate seem much more horrible. She was a pinto, but not a skewbald or piebald, she was a light, golden cream, with medicine hat markings. Her mane and tail were long and unkempt, matted and filled with brambles, she had a bad case of rain rot, and was rather thin, I could have counted her ribs from where I was standing. Her head was elegant though, having a dip in her nose, which meant she was part Arabian. Her eyes were her most interesting feature though, they were an electrifying blue. There was a wild, untamed beauty about her that was both mysterious and elegant. I could easily picture her galloping in a field full of lush green grass, the November dawn behind her.

I couldn't stand watching her laying on the grass in that state, her legs were bleeding heavily, but the barbed wire had been removed. Scott and Rachel's mom were debating what to do.

"It's horrible, isn't it?"Rachel murmured softly," I found her running around with the barbed wire when I got here, she was trying to get it off, but when saw me she started to gallop, and then wire got even more tangled, and she fell."

"At least you got here when you did,"Byron said, his eyes watching the mare,"Imagine what would have happened if you didn't show up."

A silence fell between us after that, lost in our own thoughts. I would never understand people, and why they did what they did. Wouldn't the owner feel guilty? Didn't he think about her? I couldn't stand this, I couldn't stand being here and watching this mare go through this pain, this fear, and she had done nothing to deserve it.

I watched as Scott began to take something out of his bag, a revolver, it's black surface glinting in the cold November sunshine. The mare suddenly moved up on her side, tossing her head, but Rachel's mom pushed her down gently. My eyes widened in horror, they couldn't do this!

I suddenly ran over, sitting near the mare,"Stop, I won't let you hurt her!" My voice was breaking horribly.

The mare looked at me with her bright blue eyes and sighed, she didn't pull away or jerk her head, the fight was out of her. I warily placed my hand on her neck, stroking her fur, her neck twitched under my hand.

Scott looked at me, his gaze concerned, pitiful almost, the same look people gave me when they found out about Cody and my Mom. I hated that look, it was one of lost hope.

"Listen, Jess.."He began.

"You can't do this! It's not fair, give her another chance, she doesn't deserve this,"I cut him off, I didn't care, I just wanted him to put that revolver away.

Amy was watching me silently, without thinking, I began to move my fingers in small circles along the mare's neck.

"How much of a chance does she have of surviving?"Amy asked.

Scott put the revolver down, looking at Amy,"She's been out here for a while she's nearly starved to death, who knows what diseases she might get from the rust on the barbed wire, and the wounds are pretty deep."

Amy frowned a little, thinking,"Well, if she's been out here for a while, and survived as long as she has, doesn't she have a fighting chance?"

Scott shrugged, but nodded,"Yes, but a small one."

"I'll take her then,"Amy said, her brown eyes met mine, and I had never felt so much gratitude for someone.

Scott hesitated, but then put the revolver away,"Alright, but she'll need a tranquilizer, this way we can stitch up the wounds." Then he stood up and walked back to the jeep.

The mare rested her head in my lap, her bright blue eyes looking up at me, I let her sniff my hand, feeling her whiskers tickle my hand and her warm breath blow on my skin. I gently stroked her face and her neck, asking myself as a lump formed in my throat and tears filled my eyes, why? Why would someone leave such a fate for such a beautiful mare?


	7. Chapter 7

**/.Chapter Seven.\\**

After Scott and Rachel's mom had stitched all of the wounds they bandaged the mare's legs, this way she wouldn't be able to pull out the stitches, we got the mare up and carefully led her into the trailer. At first she had refused to go in, but with a few gentle words Amy managed to lead her inside. If it hadn't been for the tranquilizer and the loss of the mare's fight, I don't think we would have gotten her home in one piece.

Byron and I said good-bye to Rachel and thanked her mom for her help, then we got into the car and left, Scott tailing us in the jeep. The drive home was oddly silent, there was nothing to say, I rested my head against the window and watched as the trees and fields passed by. All the while though I was listening carefully for any noise from the trailer. I felt sick inside, like I had some deadly, lasting disease that couldn't be cured. Dark gray clouds had rolled in from the west, blocking out the late afternoon sunlight, and by the time we pulled into Heartland a light drizzle was falling.

Right after Amy killed the engine the three of us got out and began to lower the ramp, the tranquilizer was beginning to wear off the mare and she almost ran out, but Amy grabbed her halter just in time, and led her into the barn, Scott, Byron and I following in her wake. The barn was warm compared the drizzling cold outside, but it did nothing to bring up my mood.

Amy put the mare in a stall which connected to a private paddock, this way when the stitches were out she could come and go as she pleased. Amy put Star of Bethlehem in the mare's water, and brought her a bran mash, Scott gave the mare another shot of anti-biotics and then left the stall and went up to the house.

I started the evening feeds with Byron, we didn't talk or joke like we usually did. I stayed silent the whole time, it felt as if I was in a dream like state, like none of this was real and I'd wake up any minute.

After I finished up the haynets I went back to the mare's stall and rested my arms on the stall door, she was laying down, her muzzle resting on the straw. She hadn't touched her food or her water. I just couldn't understand why people were so cruel. I wondered if Amy was annoyed with me, helping horses was her job, but I had made a bit of a scene. I watched as the mare snorted softly and began to eat some of the bran mash. Well, Amy being annoyed with me would be worth it.

I didn't realize how long I was outside, I hadn't even noticed that Byron had left a while ago. Soon I heard footsteps coming up the barn aisle, but I didn't look to see who it was.

"Hey,"It was Amy.

I glanced at her and she gave me a smile, then looked at the mare.

"She's already eating, that's a good sign."

I stayed silent, Amy spoke again,

"Scott said that we'll need to change her bandages every day, but if she heals quickly, we can start walking her around the yard."

"Are you alright?"Amy asked.

I pulled my gaze away from the mare and looked at Amy, she was watching me, her brown eyes concerned.

"I don't know how you stand dealing with this stuff,"I told her, glancing at the mare again,"How can people be so cruel?"

Amy took my hand and squeezed it gently,but her gaze was on the mare as well, recalling the past,"This isn't the first time we've dealt with horses in these situations, and, unfortunately, it won't be the last time either."

She looked at me and continued,"People are ignorant and close-minded, and some are just plain cruel. That's why we have Heartland though, to give horses a second chance at trust."

"You did the right thing today, you gave her a second chance at life and trust. And with time and patience, we can get her back up on her feet," Amy finished.

Her words gave me hope for the future, and I felt a small smile creep onto my face,"Do you really think so?"

"I know so,"Amy replied, returning my smile,"Now, the only thing you can do to help her is let her rest, and you should go inside too. It's been a rough day."

Then the both of us walked up into the house and after a quick dinner I went to bed, I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

Even though I had gone to bed late last night, I woke up early the next morning. Maybe the cold had woken me up, or my restless dreams had, I didn't dabte on it for too long though, because the memories from yesterday came back and I quickly dressed and then went downstairs. The kitchen was still dark when I went downstairs, so I quietly pulled on a pair of gloves and my boots and then went outside. I looked at the horizon for a few moments, the gray twilight was just beginning, then I sighed and walked out to the barn.

I pulled open the door and a few nervous whickers could be heard as I switched on the lights. I walked down the barn aisle, stopping to pet AJ and Tex as I did so, and then I stopped near the mare's stall.

To my dismay she was still laying down, but when I looked over the stall door she picked up her head and looked at me, her ears flicking forward. Her feed and water buckets were also empty.

"Good girl,"I smiled, seeing that the bran mash was gone, then I left her stall to start the feeds.

As the morning wore on, Byron didn't show up. I asked Amy where he was but she said that he had taken the day off. Ty drove me to school that morning, but despite how hard I tried, I couldn't concentrate in any of my classes, I kept thinking about the mare and looking at the clock. The morning seemed to drag on forever, and finally lunch came around, but when I got to the table I saw that Byron wasn't there.

"Where's Byron?"I asked, looking at his empty chair.

Rachel paused, finishing some of her lettuce before speaking,"..His mom was diagnosed with breast cancer and today was her first day of chemo."

I felt my heart sink,"Oh, poor Byron,"I murmured quietly. I couldn't imagine my mom getting breast cancer, he must have felt terrible, and on top of that he had to deal with the horses and the pressure of training Lido.

Rachel nodded solemnly, but the changed the subject,"So how's the mare?"

"She isn't standing yet, but she ate all of her food last night, and she perked up when she saw me this morning, so I think she has a good chance of pulling through,"I replied.

"That's good, I was pretty worried yesterday,"Rachel said.

"I think we all were,"I replied, sipping my drink,"I just can't understand why people would do such things."

Rachel shrugged her shoulders,"People are people, unfortunately. And of course, then there's Adam."

"Hey!"He said, trying his best to keep a straight face.

I watched them and smiled, happy that despite the situation we could still joke around. Sometimes just being with your friends makes everything better.

"Hey, didn't you used to race in motocross?"Someone suddenly asked.

The question caught me off gaurd, I looked away from Rachel and saw a guy standing at the end of the table, holding his lunch tray, he had short, black hair and dark eyes. He was around average height, lean and slightly muscled. He seemed familiar from somewhere, but I couldn't quite put my finger on who he was. Don't you just hate it when that happens?

"..Yeah.."I said tentively,"Why?"

Like I've mentioned before, I didn't like talking about my racing career, at all. The last time anyone had said something to me about it had started making comments about my brother, and had gone to the nurse's office with a black eye.

"Oh,"He said suddenly, as if remembering, then he looked at me a small grin on his face,"You're Jess Gray, the one that got into the accident at the County National qualifieds last year."

A couple of people had stopped and now stood near him, listening intently, a couple of people from neighboring tabels watched us curiously. I glanced at Adam and Rachel, they glanced at me, but then looked back at the guy.

"..Yeah, and?"I asked coolly, I could feel my anger beginning to strike up.

"Don't you remember me?"The guy said, then frowned a little,"Tom Wass, I was in the qualifieds with you, and then I went on to win the Nationals, of course."

Tom looked around, frowning a little at his friends,"What, you guys haven't heard of Jess? Winner of the Brookdale cup? Came second in the Walkerton Finals? No? Well, maybe this will ring a bell, she's also known as the girl that screwed up on her bike. Proof that girls can't ride."

Now I knew where Tom was from, I had competed with him in numerous races, and had beat him in all of them. A year later and he was still upset? Jeez, what a sore loser. He was really starting to get on my nerves now though,but I didn't say anything, I remembered what Christina had told me about counting to ten when I get mad. She'd be so proud of me.

I was giving him a death glare though, Rachel saw this and frowned at Tom.

"Hey, back off,"Adam said," Go sit down with your buddies."

The only reason that Tom did go away though was because a teacher was beginning to walk over. I shook my head and tried to calm my anger. Where did that guy get off, making comments about that accident?

I turned my gaze to Rachel and Adam,"Thanks."

"No worries,"Adam said,"That guy can be a real jerk though sometimes."

Rachel nodded in agreement.

Unfortunately, Tom Wass wouldn't be the only thing to bring down my day.

Rachel gave me a ride home from school, after she dropped me off I thanked her and waved as she pulled out of the drive, then I walked up to the house, but my books away, put my boots on, and then went back out to the barn.

First I walked to the mare's stall, and I saw that she was standing. She was facing one of the back corners of her stall, her haunches facing me. Her ears flickered though as she heard my footsteps. I murmured a few words and she turned her head to look at me, then she snorted and stamped her back hoof, shaking her white mane.

I frowned a little, seeing her exposed ribs and matted fur, she could really use a good grooming. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a couple of sugar cubes, then I put them in my palm and reached my hand into the stall.

She watched inquisitively as I did this, but she only snorted and pinned back her ears.

"Oh come on, I know you're hungry, Novello,"I murmured gently, _Novello_, I smiled,"I'm not going to hurt you."

I stood calmly for a few moments, watching Novello. She had no intentions of coming near me to get the sugar cubes. I sighed a little and put them on the stall door,"Fine."

Then I walked away towards the tack room to get a grooming kit, out of the corner of my eye I could just see Novello walk up to the stall door to grab the sugar cubes and then dissapear back in her stall again. I only smiled and kept walking.

After I finished grooming AJ and Blackie I walked outside and stood near the training arena. Amy stood in the center with Tex, I watched as she unbuckled his halter and let him walk away. What was she doing? I was just about to find out, though.

Amy turned and saw me, she looked at me and then motioned for me to come over. I raised my eyebrows curiously and then slipped under the fence, walking over to her.

"What's up?"I asked her.

"I am going to teach you how to do join-up,"Amy smiled.

I looked at Tex, then at Amy,"Join-up?"

She nodded,"It's an exercise that we use for horses to gain trust. It's like talking to them through body signals. First I'm going to do it, and then you are."

"When did I sign up for this?"I asked jokingly.

Amy grinned,"You didn't, I volunteered you. First you'll just watch, and then I'll walk you through it."

"Okay,"I said, then I walked back and slipped under the fence, watching Amy and Tex. I was interested to see what Amy was going to do.

I watched carefully as Amy flicked the lunge line at Tex's haunches, making him canter, she drove him along the fence a few times. Tex seemed to be enjoying himself at first, his strides long and powerful, but soon he flicked his ear towards Amy. Then she flicked the lunge line at him again, making him change direction. A few clouds of dirt rose up as Tex suddenly turned on his haunches and kept cantering, sweat now beaded along his neck and chest. Soon he lowered his head and began to make chewing motions with his jaw.

I watched, quirking an eyebrow slightly as Amy suddenly stopped driving him and turned away from him, looking at the ground. Slowly, Tex stopped cantering away and stopped to watched Amy, then he walked over to her and nuzzled her shoulder. Amy turned and stroked his muzzle, then turned and walked away, I watched in astonishment as Tex followed her all around the arena. Soon Amy stopped and stroked Tex's neck, extolling him,and then she looked at me.

At that moment the phone began to ring in the house,"I'll get it,"I told her, then I walked into the house, kicking my boots off. I walked over and picked up the phone, but it was the person I'd least expect.

"Heartland, this is Jess speaking,"I said into the reciever, playing with the phone cord.

"Jess!" Exclaimed Christina," It's great to talk to you."

"Oh -hey, Christina, what's up?"I asked, I wondered why she was calling.

"I just wanted to check up on you, and I have some good news,"Christina bubbled.

"I'm doing fine, Heartland is really great,"I told her,"What news?"

"Oh, Jess, your dad is getting remarried!"

And that's when I nearly dropped the reciever in shock.

My dad did have a girlfriend, her name was Stephanie, she wasn't the wicked witch of the west or anything, but I just didn't like her. I didn't like the idea of anyone taking my mom's place in the family. I didn't see too much of her, she was nice, with long black hair and a tan complexion, she and my dad got on really well. I couldn't help but feel a bit envious of her though, my dad would talk to her, but not me. I was enraged by this bit of news, why wouldn't he tell me about his idea of getting engaged to Stephanie? Aren't parents supposed to give thier kids a heads up if there's someone moving in with them?

But I was also mad about something else, I felt like he had sent me here to so he could go off and enjoy his own life. Yeah, it was stupid, I know, but hadn't even _told_ me about this engagement thing. But there was a deeper rage inside me, a rage towards the idea that my dad could move on after everything that had happened, but I couldn't.


	8. Chapter 8

**/.Chapter Eight.\\**

I guess you could understand why I was in a foul mood the rest of the day, I had finished the conversation with Christina as quickly as I could, hanging up the phone roughly, then I had gotten my boots on and had walked back outside.

Amy was standing in the arena with Tex, looking at me,"Who was it?"

"Christina,"I answered glumly, but I didn't want to talk about Christina, or my dad, I didn't want to think about my family at all. What I wanted was to be alone, and have something to do to keep me busy.

"I don't think I'm ready to do join-up, Amy,"I said, avoiding her gaze,"I'm going to go and check on Novello."

"Oh, the mare, okay,"Amy said,"Are you alright?"

"More or less,"I shrugged, but before she could question me any more I walked into the barn and to Novello's stall.

Novello was still facing the back corner of her stall, but when I walked up she turned her head and looked at me, her nares flaring softly. I stood outside her stall for a few moments, simply looking at her pinto markings and her bright blue eyes. Slowly, I took a steady breath and slipped into her stall, sitting on the floor.

She turned her head and took a few side-steps to get a good look at me, and she pinned her ears back, snorting loudly. But she didn't snake her head towards me or try to kick at me, she just stood quietly, watching me.

_She's not dangerous, she's just scared_, I thought. I took a couple of sugar cubes out of my jacket pocket and placed them on my palm, then offered them to her.

Novella only perked her ears at first, then stood silently, but I could see her eyeing the sugar cubes with interest. But would she risk going near a human to get a treat?

After what seemed like forever, Novella took a cautious step closer to me and reached her neck as far as it would go, then she snatched the sugar cubes from my palm and shot back, munching contently on the treats.

"I told you I wasn't going to hurt you,"I muttered, smiling slightly. I took out another sugar cube and held my palm out.

Novella took less time to take the treat, and this time stood still long enough for me to stroke her muzzle before she stepped back again.

I couldn't help but smile at this small step forward, then I stood up and left her stall to get started on the evening feeds.

I made an effort to get up earlier the next morning, this way I could spend some extra time with Novello, but this morning I put a jacket on instead of just a sweatshirt; I swear it was dropping five degrees every day. I was still down about the news that Christina had given me, I hadn't told anyone, I wanted to avoid it for as long as possible. But when I saw Novello my thoughts about my dad immediately dissipated.

She turned her head to look at me, and whickered softly in greeting.

I beamed,"Good girl," I murmured, then I went to the tack room to get a grooming kit and a carrot, and walked back to Novello's stall. I had just enough time to give Novello a quick groom before I had to feed the horses, I slipped quietly into her stall.

Novello didn't step towards me, but her gaze was on the carrot. I broke off a piece and gave it to her, then I offered her the brush to sniff.

Her nares flared softly and then she lipped at the bristles, I pulled the brush away from her.

"No, you can't eat that, sorry,"I smiled, then I began to move the brush gently over her back.

Novello turned her head and looked at me, snorting softly, then she turned her head away.

"Good girl,"I grinned, then I continued to groom her. Novello had definitely been handled before, she had probably been a riding horse at some point, and this made me angry with whomever had left her out on Clairedale Ridge.

Her ears flicked every so often, listening as I spoke quietly to her, and soon I felt her muscles relax, beginning to enjoy the attention. I did my best to get the burs out of her mane and tail, and I had succesfully removed most of them when I saw a shadow fall across the stall floor.

Byron was watching us, well, me,"What are you doing?"

I quirked an eyebrow at his tone,"Grooming Novello."

He gave me this puzzled look as I said 'Novello', but then he realized I was refering to the mare, and a small frown creased his features.

"Ty said that he doesn't want us in her stall,"Byron said.

I picked up the grooming kit, and got out of Novello's stall, beginning to feel defensive,"That's fine, I'm done anyways. She isn't dangerous."

Byron still frowned at me,"Don't get too attached to her, Amy reported a found horse yesterday."

I shrugged my shoulders, then began to walk past him, I didn't need any more bad news,"No one's going to take her, her 'owners' would have reported a missing horse. Someone left her there to rot."

Byron turned and looked after me,"How do you know?"

I stopped and turned to look at him, I was really starting to get annoyed, 'how do you know?' what kind of question was that!

"I just do,"I shrugged,"A decent person wouldn't leave thier horse out somewhere, they would be looking for it, or at least report it missing."

Byron was quick to retalliate, though,"I think you should focus a little bit more on Heartland, and a little less on Novello."

What nerve! I couldn't understand why Byron was acting like this, had I done something wrong? Maybe he was just in a bad mood about his mom. I just looked at him and shook my head slightly, then kept walking, it would be the rough beginning of a rough day.

I didn't talk to Byron at all during the morning chores, and to avoid being questioned I finished my chores as quickly as possible. It felt like the world was falling out from under me, but I bucked up and did what I always do, I tried my best to forget about the situation and go on with the rest of the day.

The morning just seemed to drag on, I kept finding myself thinking about Novello and my dad, and Byron. Today just wasn't my day, I realized, when I went to lunch.

"Jess,"Rachel said, waving her hand in front of my face,"Hello?Anybody home?"

"Huh?"I mumbled, looking up at her from the history book that was in front of me, I was trying to catch up with my homework,"Oh, sorry."

"I asked how the mare was,"Rachel said, sipping her water.

"Oh,"I said, glancing at Byron, he glanced at me, but then looked away, he had been quiet the whole time,"Novello's fine, I groomed her this morning. Scott should be coming over this afternoon to check on her, and Lou's helping Amy with wedding plans."

"Novello,"Rachel murmured to herself, then she smiled,"That's a pretty name, it suits her."

I looked over at Adam, biting my lower lip slightly.

He met my gaze and read my thoughts," No, no one has replied to the 'found horse' report you put in."

I gave a slight sigh of relief, I was really attached to Novello. I highly doubted anyone was going to reply to the report, but there was still that chance...

"Since it's Thanksgiving vacation, I was thinking maybe we all could go on a trail ride,"Rachel suggested.

Byron suddenly cut in smoothly,"I'm not sure, they said on the weather there's supposed to be a snow storm tonight."

"Already!"Adam exclaimed, then sat back in his chair, shaking his head slightly,"Jeez."

I shared Adam's feelings towards the snow, it would mean a lot more work around the barn, and on top of that, I really, really hated the cold.

Suddenly, someone pulled out the chair next to mine and Tom sat down, glancing over my history book, then he looked at me and grinned,

"Hey."

I immediately felt my defense pick up, I began to hate the snarky grin on his face, and when a few of his friends walked over, I knew he meant trouble. I glanced over the table, Adam was sitting calmly, but his blue eyes were alert, watching Tom, Byron watched us curiously, but he could sense trouble. I briefly met Rachel's gaze and flipped some of my hair over my shoulder defiantly, not replying to Tom. I looked down at my history book, then began to jot down the answer to one of the questions on a piece of paper. Tom didn't take the cold shoulder easily though.

"How are the horses?"He prompted.

I just wanted him to go away, Tom Wass was the last person that I wanted to deal with,"Fine."I said coolly.

He wasn't finished,"Yeah, it's probably better that you turned to an easier hobby. Motocross can put a lot of pressure on a girl,"He said cassualy.

Man, what was _with_ this guy? A couple of sessions with Christina wouldn't kill his ego. I could feel Byron, Rachel and Adam watching me, a few neighboring tables were watching as well. I decided to use this to my advantage.

I turned my gaze and looked at Tom, but I didn't give him a death glare, actually I did quite the opposite, I quirked an eyebrow and gave him an amused smile.

"You would know about that 'pressure, wouldn't you? Because every time you entered in a race with a 'specific' girl, she kicked your ass,"I said calmly, my voice a little loud, this way the other tables could hear.

Rachel gave a quiet laugh, Tom's grin suddenly dissapeared.

Hey, I didn't want to pop his bubble, but he had asked for it. I was already in a foul mood from this morning, so I wasn't taking other people's feelings into consideration. I gave Tom a cheerful smile in reply to his enraged glare, and then I looked back at my history book. Tom wouldn't let up though, he wouldn't let me insult him if he could help it. This meant war.

"Your dad must be pretty dissapointed, I heard he refuses to talk to you,"Tom said coolly.

I looked back at Tom, frowning a little,"Watch it,"I said, my voice just as cold. I meant it too, Tom was walking on thin ice now.

He knew that he had touched a nerve now though,and he kept on going.

"So, how does it feel to kill your own brother? How can you live with yourself?"

"Hey, back off!"Byron suddenly said, he was beginning to stand up now, his brown eyes cold.

Tom didn't take the warning though, his green eyes watching me, glaring into my blue-gray eyes.

"Is your mom out of the drunk house yet? Do you feel good knowing that your mom's in there because of-"

I didn't let him finish though. The rage from this morning, from the argument with Byron, from the news of my dad's engagement, from seeing Novello in so much pain; the rage that had been building up years ago, from losing Cody, from my mom's drinking problem, the hatred and rage towards myself, suddenly snapped. This fury took the form of my fist, and with unrelenting momentum, I pulled back and pummeled it into Tom Wass's snarky face.

His enraged glare suddenly became a look of surprise and pain as I heard cracking sounds from udner my fist; I had broken his nose. Blood suddenly spurted from his nostrils and his hands flew up to his nose, and he scrambled back in shock, almost falling out of his chair.

Surprised gasps suddenly came from neighboring tables as Tom stood, blood streaming down his shirt. Rachel, Byron and Adam were staring in shock, but I didn't care, I only glared up at Tom.

That's when I felt a firm hand on my shoulder and I knew I was in huge trouble. Christina would have been so proud of my progress, too.

"Apparently you got into a fight at your last school,"The principal, Mr.Kenney, looked over at me from my student record. He was in his early thirites, and had short, light brown hair and cold gray eyes along with a rigid jaw.

I didn't reply, I was sitting in an uncomfortable chair across from his desk. This wasn't the first time I had been to the principal's office, unfortunately. Mr.Kenney's office was relatively big, the walls were painted an off-white, and behind him were three large windows that looked out over the football field. I'd decided to stay quiet unless he asked me any questions. Principals liked to give lectures, and the less I said, the quicker he would finish.

"Here at Little River High, we give new students second chances, despite the records at thier last school.."Mr. Kenney trailed off, watching me calmly as he folded his hands,"But, you are abusing that chance, Jessica."

I hated it when people called me by my full name, it sounded too long.

"Why did you punch him?"

I sighed slightly, then replied,"Tom was saying things about my family, Mr. Kenney, I warned him to stop, and he wouldn't."

"So you let petty words get to you?"Mr.Kenney asked coolly.

I refrained myself from rolling my eyes, what was this, a cross examination?

"He provoked me, it isn't the first time he's bothered me,"I said, repeating,"I warned him to stop."

"Why didn't you tell a teacher?"Mr.Kenney questioned me.

This was really beginning to irritate me, why couldn't he just give me my punishment and send me on my merry little way?

"I guess my anger got the better of me, Mr.Kenney,"I replied.

"Well,"Mr.Kenney said, looking back at my student report,"Since you let your anger take advantage of you, you have earned yourself a week's worth of suspension, and I will be contacting your gaurdians."

I stopped myself from groaning, Amy was going to kill me.

"You may go now,"Mr.Kenney said.

He didn't need to tell me twice, I swiftly got up and left his office without a backwards glance. So much for starting off on a clean slate.

When I got home I went straight to the barn to start grooming AJ and Blackie, I was going to try my best to avoid Amy for as long as possible, this way she could cool down a little before she talked to me. The horses helped calm my nerves as well, and I felt a little better as I groomed AJ. The day had been sunny and warm, but as late afternoon came around, quick breezes began to pick up with a chilling cold, and dark clouds began to roll in from the north. Byron and I brought in the horses from the pastures, preparing for the storm that was headed our way.

Afterwards I walked down the barn aisle and stopped in front of Novello's stall. She turned her head to look at me and nickered softly. I went into her stall and walked towards her, offering her a sugar cube. The mare stepped towards me without hesitation and gobbled up the tasty treat, swishing her tail as crunched contently. I smiled a little and stroked her neck, feeling her fuzzy Winter coat under my fingers. My gaze went over her visible ribs and she nudged my shoulder slightly, her nares flaring.

I turned my gaze away and looked at her electric blue eyes. The soft glint of life ahd returned to them, and in those deep eyes I could see the mysterious wilderness and untamed beauty within. I felt my hope for Novello's progress grow.

"Don't worry girl,"I murmured softly, stroking her muzzle,"I won't let anyone hurt you again. Pretty soon you'll be out in the pasture, free to gallop as you please, I promise."

Novello's ears flicked forward, and she gently pushed her muzzle under my palm.

"Hey," A voice said quietly from the stall door.

I turned to see Byron standing calmly,"Oh, hey,"I mumbled, avoiding his gaze. We hadn't said a word to each other all day, though he had stuck up for me when Tom showed up.

He rubbed the back of his neck slightly, turning his eyes away from mine,"I just wanted to apalogize, for this morning. I was being a jerk. I guess life's been kinda rough, with the show, and my mom.."He trailed off, and his gaze seemed distant.

"Don't worry about it, I understand,"I told him, trying to smile,"Everyone has the right to be a jerk sometimes."

Byron looked at me and smiled,"Still, I should have been aware of your feelings, I'm not the only person in the world that has problems," He paused, then changed the subject,"Listen, about Tom, don't listen to what he says, he's a real jerk."

I walked up to the stall door,shrugging,"After today, I think he'll think twice before saying anything to me, I just wish it could have been less painful for him to figure that out..well, for his sake, at least."

Byron's smile grew a little,"I'm sure Amy will understand if you just explain what happened."

I shrugged again,"Hope so."

A silence fell between us after that, I was happy that things were patched up with Byron, I really liked him as a friend, and I hoped things would get better for him and his mom.

Footsteps broke up our amicable meeting though, Scott was walking up the barn aisle, towards us. Emily was tagging along behind him, wearing a bright purple Winter coat, she was carrying a toy horse with her, she gently tugged on Scott's shirt saying,

"But I want to go on a ride, daddy!"

Scott stopped enar us and looked at his daughter, saying patiently,"Maybe next time, Em',"He looked at me and tried to smile,"Amy wants to see you."

I sighed slightly and left Novello's stall, bracing myself for Amy's lecture.


	9. Chapter 9

**//.Chapter Nine.\\**

"I just got a phone call from Mr. Kenney..but of course, you already know what it's about,"Amy said, she was leaning aganst the kitchen counter, drying her hands with a dish towel. Through the window the sky was dark gray with clouds, and large, fluffy snowflakes were beginning to fall, a harsh wind picked up, causing an eerie whistling to fill the air for a few moments.

I was sitting at the kitchen table with Lou, it's polished wooden surface obscured with wedding catalogues, papers, invitation examples, and Lou's lap top, which she was hiding behind, acting like she was absorbed in whatever she was doing. my gaze went from Lou back to Amy, I had decided to take the same approach that I had used with Mr.Kenney towards Amy's lecture; shut-up and it'll be a lot less painful.

"You broke Tom's nose,"Amy said calmly, but her gaze was icy,"You're lucky his parents haven't called."

Hmm, I guess I didn't know the power of my own strength. I had thought Amy would at least partially understand where I

was coming from, Tom _had_ started the fight, after all, but with the look she was giving me, I doubted she did. Thus, I came to my defense.

"He _did_ start it,though,"I mumbled, avoiding Amy's gaze,"I warned him to stop."

"What?"Amy asked, frowning a little.

I sighed slightly, then explained,"He was saying things about Cody and my mom, I warned him to stop, but he didn't, so I punched him."

Amy shook her head,"You know better than to lower yourself to violence, you let him know that he was bothering you. You should have ignored him."

"I tried to,though!"I cried, then I sighed a little and continued,"This wasn't the first time that Tom started messing with me."

"Than you should have told a teacher,"Amy replied.

Well, I didn't have anything to reply to that. Amy was right, I should have told a teacher, but I had let my anger get the best of me. I knew violence was wrong, and I really didn't like getting into fights, but I really trusted Amy. I thought that to some extent she'd understand _why_ I had punched Tom, that he had _provoked_ me, but she didn't seem to get the picture at all.

Amy continued,"Jess, I'm really dissapointed in you. You've been given a chance to start over, something that not many people get, and you're just back at square one again. You have to stop messing around and buck up."

I couldn't believe her! Did she think I was just lazing off, that I didn't take anything seriously? I felt the rage from earlier begin to bubble again, so much that I suddenly stood up. The wind outside whistled and screamed.

"'Messing around'? Is that what you think I'm doing? I've been trying my best to help out and fit in! Do you think I want people to keep making comments about my dead brother, that I want people to think of me as 'the girl that screwed up on her bike'?"I shouted.

The room had fallen completely silent, Lou had stopped typing and was now watching Amy and I with wide eyes. Amy watched me, she had become silent. but there wasn't anger in her eyes, just shock that I had yelled. That's when I realized there were tears in my eyes, but I blinked them away. It was the second time today that I had flown off the handle, Christina would be dissapointed. I couldn't help it though, I was tired of people saying things and making comments, and I had to take it all with a smile on my face and keep going.

Amy didn't get to reply to my outburst though, because suddenly there was the sound of running footsteps and then the door burst open, letting in a burst of cold air. Scott stood in the doorway, snowflakes melting on his shoulders and in his black hair, his cheeks were red with the cold and his eyes were wide, his face anxious, almost scared.

"Lou, Amy -Byron and I have looked everywhere, we can't find Emily, she's missing!"

And that's when I realized what the cause of the fear was, it was fear for his missing daughter.

Lou suddenly jumped up from the table, her expression worried,"Are you sure?"

Scott nodded gravely,"Byron and I have checked the barns, the pastures, the back of the house, we can't find her anywhere."

"I'll call the police,"Amy said, walking over to the phone.

"Let me check the house,"Lou said, then quickly turned and went upstairs.

I walked over to one of the cabinets and took out a flash light, handing one to Scott, then I put my jacket on.

"I'll help you look outside, we'll go around the area again, maybe she'll turn up,"I suggested.

Scott nodded, I put my gloves on, then I walked out of the warm, comforting house, and into the cold of the storm. When I first stepped off the porch and onto the frozen ground a gust of wind suddenly picked up and stung my cheeks. I squinted against it and looked at the ground, there was already an inch of glistening white snow.

The lights from the barn gleamed brightly in the dark, seeming to give off a sense of warmth and hope. Scott and I walked to the barn, Byron and Ty were standing just outside.

"We check the hayloft, the tack room and the feed room,"Ty said, shaking his head a little,"There's no sign of her."

From the light of the barn I could see the look of dissapointment and worry on Scott's face,"Amy's called the police, so they should be here soon. I'll go look up by the road, you two check the pastures again. Jess, check around the barns and the house."

After the orders were given. the three of us went our separate ways. I turned my flashlight on and walked slowly around the barn, looking for Emily's purple Winter jacket, the snow kept falling unrelentlessly, falling in the same large white flakes. The wind howled and shrieked, tossing snow in all directions. I yelled Emily's name a few times, walking around the barns and the house twice, but there was no sign of her. I paused as I saw red and blue flashing lights in the distance, and I quickly realized it was a squad car, as they came closer I saw there was two of them, as they pulled into the drive way I began to walk away from the barn and towards them.

The snow was getting deeper every minute, and soon it would be difficult to walk through it. Byt the time I got to the cars, everyone was already gathered near them. Four police officers had come, two of them had hounds, which were jumping about and barking loudly. I stood next to Byron, watching as Lou handed a picture of Emily to one of the officers.

"We've looked everywhere, and we can't find her,"Lou said,"She went missing half an hour ago."

The police officer sighed slightly and looked around, he was a balding man in his late forties, his face creased with lines of worry and exhaustion,"Well, we can go around the area with the dogs, but we can't send out a search party just yet."

"Why not?"Ty asked defensively.

The police officer shook his head a little,"The storm's too rough to send anyone out now, we won't get that far, we'll have to wait until it lets up, I'm sorry."

Lou suddenly let out a sob and Scott went to her, hugging her close,murmuring quietly to her. I couldn't hear what they were saying over the wind, but I felt sorrow stab at my heart. I turned my gaze away from them and looked out at the stable yard, I couldn't see past the pasture fences, beyond them was complete darkness, nothing but woods and trails. I really began to wonder where Emily could be, imagining her somewhere in that darkness, lost, scared and cold; alone. With nothing but the darkness and the silent falling snow.

_'But I want to go on a ride,daddy!'_

"I should have kept a better eye on her,"Scott suddenly said, shaking his head a little.

"Don't beat yourself up,Scott,"Amy said,"We'll find her."

And I knew we would, because I had a pretty good idea of where Emily might be, but I would have to act, and fast. I took a few steps back from the group, then turned and began to walk away, past the barns and the pastures, they didn't even realize that I had left. My foot steps were completely silent on the fresh blanket of snow, which was getting higher every minute, within a few minutes, I knew, the falling snow would completely cover my tracks. I walked along the pasture fence for a while, the lights from the barn and the house becoming more distant with every step. Suddenly, the fence ended, and beyong that was the ominous expance of darkness, _nothing but woods and trails._ A harsh gust of wind suddenly blew back my hair, the sound screaming in my ears, telling me to turn back and go home. I shined my flashlight forward, finding the opening to the trails, then I took a steady breath, and entered the woods.

At first it wasn't hard to stay on the path, despite the snow, there was a definite gap between the trees, which I knew was the trail, so I followed it. Other than the beam from my falshlight, everything else was pitch black, the silence was complete, the only noise was the occasional whistle of the wind and my breathing. It was like I was in some dark, alien world, and I was the only living being. I immediately felt bad for Emily, being stuck in the dark and silence all alone, and without a flashlight, she was probably scared to death, being only four years old. I could remember being afraid of the dark when I was four, and how I thought there were monsters living under my bed, where there was complete darkness, all the time. Then my determination to find her grew.

"Emily!"I yelled loudly, my voice echoed into the darkness, sounding small,"Emily, it's Jess, everyone's looking for you!"

I paused and listened carefully, but there was no answer, after a few moments I kept walking. I wondered if Amy and the others realized I was missing yet, they probably had by now, and they'd be looking for me as well. I could picture Amy, Lou and Scott sitting at the kitchen table, drinking coffee and waiting for any news, trying to start conversations, but what was there to say? All they could do was sit and wait, and worry. What about my parents? They had no idea I was out in the woods, looking for some little girl, they didn't have a clue. They were both probably sleeping right now, whilst I was wandering outside in the dark and the cold.

I stopped again to yell Emily's name, my breath being swept away by the wind, then I listened, but there was no answer. The snow was around my ankles now, and it was getting harder to walk through it. I sighed a little and looked around, more trees and just darkness. What was I thinking, going into the woods to find Emily? What if I was lost, and I had been walking in circles the whole time? What if I couldn't find my way back? How come I didn't mark my way as I walked? I hadn't even thought of this, even if I did find Emily I wouldn't be of any help to her, we'd be lost together. These woods went on for a few miles, how did I know Emily was on this trail? Maybe she wasn't even on the trail at all. Maybe I'd just go on looking for her, and then I'd collapse from exhaustion and freeze to death, and then weeks later they'd find my frozen body laying in the snow.

What if Emily had gotten frost bite and she had fallen down, and now she was laying somewhere, simply looking like some snow drift, and I had walked past her? So many questions, so many thoughts all on one little girl. I had never felt so small and alone in my entire life, standing in these woods; I was at mercy to the storm. I couldn't remember a time that I had been so scared, well, there was one time that was close to this, and that was the accident, when I had seen Cody go flying out of my reach, off the track, and then I had become airborne as well. Suddenly I saw a small lump off snow in the path, I shined my flash light on it and bent down, wiping the snow away and I picked it up. It was a black model horse, probably a Breyer model, I had had dozens of them when I was younger.

I knew of course, that this was a sign that Emily had been here at some point, and by the amount of snow that had fallen on the toy horse, it hadn't been too long ago. I yelled Emily's name as loud as I could, but no one answered. I frowned to myself a little and looked at the toy horse again, I had to be brave for Emily, and believe that things would turn out okay. Then, with new determination, I set off down the trail once again at a fast walk.

It wasn't long before I reached Clairedale road, the trail ended and there it was, a flat, white expanse of road. There weren't any cars, of course, the snow was too deep to get through, and there was ice underneath. When I had first stepped onto the road my hopes had picked up tremendously, and I started jogging along side of the road. This was a bad idea, I found out though, because no more than two seconds later I fell flat on my face. Yep, I was just gracefull. Pain immediately rushed to my knees, but I numbly picked myself up and kept walking, being more careful of the black ice. The wind whistled and the trees swayed slowly, thier branches creaking heavily in the breeze, the snow just kept on falling, being tossed and thrown by the harsh wind. The turn off loomed up ahead and I stepped back on the trail, picking my way carefully up the hill. When I finally got to the top I saw the house, the car and the shed, all three nearly unrecognizable from the snow. But amongst all the white the beam from my flashlight fell on a small girl wearing a puffy purple Winter jacket, sitting up against the shed.

I ran over to her, slipping on some of the loose snow, but I regained my balance and kneeled in front of her, and even though my face was numb, I was grinning.

"I think.."I said, handing her the toy horse,"..you dropped this."

Emily looked at me, her face red from the cold, and slowly tears began to run down her face.

I hugged her close to me, she was nearly frozen,"It's okay, I'm going to bring you home. Everything's going to be fine, I promise."

"I'm s-so c-c-cold,"Emily barely got out, she was shivering horribly in my arms.

I took off my jacket and put it around her, then I picked her up and began to walk back up the hill, she wasn't that heavy, but walking up hill and through the snow was difficult.

"How d-did you know I was h-here?"Emily asked in a small voice.

I carefully picked my way back up the hill, then started the descent,"Oh, I h-had a hunch."

She stayed silent after that, I walked warily on the road, then started back on the trail again. The wind screamed hit at my face, which was completely numb by now. I couldn't feel my ears or my nose, and my legs felt like jelly, but I thought of Heartland and I kept going. I glanced down at Emily and saw her eye-lids beginning to droop. I panicked slightly, sleep was one of the first signs of hypothermia.

"Emily,"I said against the wind,"Whatever you do, just stay awake, keep your eyes open, alright? You need to stay awake."

"Okay,"Emily replied softly, her voice almost inaudible.

That's when I began to talk, I neede to keep her awake, so I told her about when I was four and I had first ridden a horse, and about how I was afraid of monsters under my bed, I told her about how I was afraid when I had gone off to look for her. I told her about the lessons my mom gave me on a pony named Domino and how horses were 'in my blood'. I told her anything I could to keep her awake, and at the same time, talking kept me awake and walking too.

Soon I stopped walking though, my legs were shaking badly, and I could feel my knees buckle, if we were going to make it home, I would have to sit for a few minutes to get my strength back. I sat down and put Emily next to me, resting my head against the trunk of a tree. I felt so exhausted, I could have fallen asleep right there, despite the cold and the wind. My whole body was completely numb, this is what it must have felt like in Antarctica, a cold, barren wasteland, completely unpopulated. I needed to keep talking to keep Emily awake.

"How about I tell you a story?"I suggested, staring ahead at the path.

"Okay,"Emily said quietly, huddled against me.

"Alright,"I murmured, thinking,"Once upon a time, far, far away in the Arabian desert there was a princess, and she lived in a beautiful palace, she ruled with kindness and bravery, and the people in the village always had food and they honored the princess as thier leader. Although the princess had riches beyond belief, her most prized possesion was a white pony. One day though, the pony went missing and was nowhere to be found.."

Emily was listening intently, trying to stay awake. But I had stopped talking because I couldn't believe what I was seeing on the path.

Amongst the wind and snow a figure was walking up to us, soon he came near us and halted, he was wearing jeans a dark gray shirt, he was tall and lean, standing around six foot. His skin was a nice tan, and his face was nicely defined. He had slightly long, dark brown hair the curled slightly and framed his face nicely, his most striking feature was his bright blue eyes. His gaze met mine and he grinned, like he really meant it.

_Cody..._

I knew it was a hallucination, a result from the cold and exhaustion. I felt a lump form in my throat.

"I'm sorry,"I whispered, my breath coming out in a visible puff.

Cody only looked at me and gave me a quiet smile, looking at me with concern, then he turned and looked down the path.

A soft snort filled the air and soon Novello could be seen in the ray from the flashlight. Her electric blue eyes observed me and she whickered softly, shaking her mane a little. Despite how cold I was I felt a smile form on my numb features. We were going to make it home.

I picked up Emily and put her on Novello's back, then I pulled myself up and put my arms in fron of Emily, holding onto Novello's mane. When I looked back, Cody was gone. as soon as I got on, Novello turned around and started walking, her hooves silent on the snow. She carefully picked her way along the path.

I continued with the story to keep Emily awake,"...The princess needed help to find her pony, so she called the legendary far rider. The rider was mysterious to the kingdom, but he was kind, and within a few days, he returned to the kingdom with the pony. The princess asked him how he had found her pony, and he replied, 'Your horse is your friend, trust your horse, and they will find thier way home.' "

Novello kept walking confidently, knowing how to get back to Heartland. Soon the trees became less dense, and we were out of the woods. I could see the lights from the house and the barn, the lights that helped us through the storm. Novello walked along the pasture fence, and as we neared the house I could hear some commotion from inside.

Lou suddenly pushed open the fron door and ran down the porch,"Emily!"She yelled happily.

I could see Scott, Ty, Byron, Amy and the police officers follow her, jogging towards us through the deep snow. I picked up Emily and put her down as easily as I could, then I watched as she ran towards Lou. Lou met her and pulled her into a hug.

I watched this joyful reunion for a few moments as Amy and Ty made thier way towards me, then I leaned down and hugged Novello's warm, fuzzy neck, she nickered softly.

"Good girl,"I murmured, then I closed my eyes and let the darkness meet me.


	10. Chapter 10

**/.Chapter Ten.\**

I didn't know how long I was out for, whether it was minutes or hours I had no idea, I had fallen into a deep, dreamless state of sleep. There were no nightmares of Cody or dirt bikes, I couldn't remember the last time I had slept so well. When I first woke up I heard the soft beep of a machine near me, soon I could hear soft footsteps coming from somewhere, along with the rolling wheels of a cart. I opened my eyes to the blurred off-white paint of the walls, I frowned and blinked, rubbing my eyes. When everything came into focus I realized I was in a hospital room, it was of medium size, with off-white walls and blue tiling on the floor. The hospital bed next to mine was empty, the door to the room was open, and a nurse walked past silently.

I frowned a little and looked to my left, there were a few chairs set up for visitors, and there was a television sitting on a desk up against the wall. Two large windows showed the overcast sky, and a small drift of snow had built up on the windowsill. I kept turning my gaze, next to me was a bedside table, and it was over-run with large bouquets of flowers; yellow roses, orchids, and daisies, all of them bursting with color. There was even a 'Get Well Soon!' balloon. I thought of Heartland and smiled, there was also a discarded newpaper sitting on the table. I reached over and picked it up, it was the _Little River Press, _on the front cover was a picture of Heartland, the white farmhouse and the two barns covered in snow looked almost like a Christmas card. Next to the large picture of Heartland was a smaller head shot of Novello, holding her elegant head proudly, her bright blue eyes looking into the camera. above the pictures was the title, in bold print,

**Out Of The Storm**

I quirked an eyebrow slightly, but went on to read the article,

** On November 26, 2006 around 6:30 PM, Emily Day, 4, was reported missing as a blizzard began. The residents of Heartland, a rehabilitation stable for horses, searched the area countless times, but Emily was nowhere to be found. Soon the police arrived, but by this time the storm was picking up, and they couldn't send out a search party. The howling winds and freezing cold didn't stop Jessica Gray, 15, though. She had been living at Heartland for a few days, and went off to look for Emily on her own. She was reported missing at 7:00 PM. **

** Both the police and Heartland residents tried thier best to find both missing girls, but the storm was at it's height, and all they could do was wait for it to let up. Jessica and Emily weren't the only ones to go off into the blizzard though, at 8:00 PM Novello, a Quarab mare that Heartland had rescued a few days ago was missing from her stall. The mare hadn't run away though, half an hour later, Novello came walking calmly back onto the Heartland property, carrying both Jessica and Emily on her back. Both girls were beginning to suffer from hypothermia, and thanks to Novello, they were both brought back to Heartland just in time.**

** Both Jessica and Emily are now at Little River Hospital, and doing well, they will both be allowed to return home in time for Thanksgiving. Novello is also fine, and she is back in her stall at Heartland. Authorities are happy to..**

I didn't finish reading the article though, I knew enough. I put the paper down on my lap, remembering the harsh darkness and silence of the woods that night, and whom I had seen...

"You gave us all a pretty bad scare,"A voice said from the doorway.

I turned my head quickly to see Amy walking into the room, she was wearing a light blue sweater and jeans, her long brown hair was pulled back in a pony tail. She was carrying a bag in her hand. She sat down in one of the chairs near me and smiled.

I tried my best to smile back,"Eh, I felt like I needed to shake things up a bit."

Amy watched me,"Well, I think we've had enough excitement to last us a while. How do you feel?"

"Definitely,"I murmured in agreement, my thoughts going over the past week, it felt like at least a month had past since I had arrived at Heartland. I paused and then answered her question,"Sore."

I really did feel sore, it felt like every muscle in my body was aching, like I had just run two miles. My thoughts turned to Emily and Novello and I asked Amy,"How's Emily? Is she alright? And how's Novello doing?"

"They're both fine,"Amy answered with a patient smile,"Emily is going home today, Lou can't thank you enough, and Novello's doing fine as well, I think she misses you,though. Scott says that he'll be able to take out the stitches soon."

"Good,"I smiled, relieved to know that everything was alright, then I asked,"How long have I been out for?"

"About a day,"Amy replied, then she added,"The doctors said that you could come home Wensday, but since you're awake, you might be able to come home tomorrow. You'll have to take it easy for a while, though."

_ Home_, I had never felt so relieved to be going home in my life. I was quiet for a few moments, looking out the window and thinking about Heartland, but then another thought hit me.

"Has Christina found out?"I asked suddenly, looking at Amy.

She smiled and laughed slightly," I knew you'd ask me that, and yes, she has, your parents know too, but I talked to them and let them know that you're alright. I think you should call them though, just to reassure them."

Then she seemed to remember something,"Which reminds me.."She reached into the bag and pulled out a jacket, then handed it to me. It took it and looked over it carefully, it was a dark brown leather jacket, the leather had a beat-up look, it was lined with tan fleece. It looked a little big, but I would grow into it.

Amy watched me, then continued,"I found it in the closet the other day, it was your mom's, I think she'd want you to have it."

"If only I'd had this earlier,"I joked, trying to keep the conversation light.

I kept my gaze on the jacket, running my hand over the soft fleece, I could even smell some of my mom's perfume on it. I felt a lump begin to form in my throat, I pulled the jacket close to me and then looked at Amy.

"Well, I guess I'd better tell you what happened,"So I did.

I began when I had found out where Emily might be, remembering her saying to Scott that she wanted to go on a ride, so I had gone onto Clairedale Ridge. I told Amy about how I had gone into the woods and how I had been scared to death of getting lost or finding Emily fallen in the snow, then I went on to tell her how I found Emily's toy horse, and that's when I knew I was going in the right direction. Amy listened carefully the entire time, watching me with a mix of concern and understanding, I really felt like she was listening to every word I said, and I told her what happened, I began to feel a weight lift off my shoulders.

I continued to tell her how I had found Emily by the abandoned shed, and how I had tried to carry her back, talking to keep her awake. But I had fallen in the snow and soon Novello had shown up, then we had ridden her back to Heartland.

"It's like she knew where we were the whole time, and she knew the whole way home,too,"I finished, watching Amy.

She seemed touched by the story,"Horses can do amazing things if you put your trust in them."

She was quiet for a few moments, but then continued,"Byron was the first one to notice you were missing, he kept going 'Where's Jess? Where's Jess?' We looked around the barn for you, at the pastures, everywhere. But of course we couldn't find you, so we figured that you had gone off to look for Emily by yourself, which was an idiotic decision and you should have _told_ us."

I met her gaze and I smiled sheepishly,"Sorry,"I mumbled.

"Well, at least you're okay,"Amy said warily, then she continued,"Pretty soon I went out to check on the horses, and Novello's stall door was open. Scott must have forgotten to push the bolt all the way."

She paused, then added jokingly,"If I'd have known you were going to go running off into storms and rescuing horses, I would have thought twice about offering for you to stay at Heartland."

I laughed a little, grinning,"Yeah, but I keep things interesting, don't I?"

Amy nodded, grinning as well,"There's never a dull moment."

I chuckled a little and shook my head slightly, looking out the window for a few moments, I let my thoughts wander, thinking about everything that had happened since the accident, life had been a roller-coaster ride of emotions and events. Looking back, I realized how far I had come, and how much Heartland had helped me. I turned my gaze back to the jacket and I remembered seeing Cody in the woods, I hadn't told Amy about it, I still felt a weight on my shoulders, something that I needed to cleanse myself of, so I could truly move on. Then I remembered the argument I had had with Amy, I had thought of it a few times during our conversation, trying to keep the atmosphere light, but I knew I'd have to bring it up.

"Listen, Amy.."I began, turning to look at her,"I'm sorry that I snapped at you like that, when you were talking to me about the fight. You're right, I should have told a teacher or done something other than resulting to violence. It's just that life's been pretty tough lately, with Cody, and my mom, and now my dad's getting remarried, I just couldn't take it anymore, so I snapped. It shouldn't be an excuse though, you're my friend, Amy, and I really trust you, I shouldn't have yelled at you like that."

I met Amy's brown eyes, but there was a small smile on her face. It wasn't a look of sorrow, or pity, something that dozens of people had given me; it was of understanding, and hope for the future.

"It's okay, Jess,"Amy started quietly," I know what it's like to lose someone, and I should have been a little easier on you, you've been through a lot lately; coming to a new place where you don't know anyone, trying to cope with your past, it's not easy to go through by yourself. I just want to let you know that you can talk to me."

These were the words that I had been waiting to hear for the longest time. Now I knew I had to come to terms with my past, and let go of my anger if I really wanted to move on, and the only way to let go of this pain and anger, was to confess it. I looked out the window at the gray sky again and sighed, then I quietly began,

"..I thought I saw Cody when I was out in the woods with Emily. I looked up and I saw him walking towards us, and then he stopped and looked at me, and he _smiled_, like he really meant it, too. And then Novello came walking up to us, it was like he had _shown_ her where we were, like he was helping save us. I knew it was only a hallucination, but it felt so _real_ seeing him," I turned my gaze to Amy and I found it was hard to speak, a lump was forming in my throat again and tears were welling up in my eyes. She was watching me, listening, her brown eyes filled with understanding.

I took a steadying breath and continued,"I never meant to run Cody off of the track that day, it was an accident. I was going too fast and one of the other riders hit me, and then I hit Cody..his bike went flying off the track, and I tried to grab him, but he was too far out of my reach, I couldn't save him. When he fell, he landed on his neck, and he died instantly. I never meant to kill Cody, I just thought that if I won the qualifieds, my dad w-would be proud of me. I just wanted my dad to take notice of me, he was never interested in my horseback riding when I was younger, so that's why I started dirt biking, I wanted to make him proud, like Cody did," I paused and took a steady breath, my hands were shaking horribly,"My mom supported me with motocross, even though I had given up riding. Now she's in Outpatient, and my dad won't talk to me, and Cody's dead, it's all my fault. If I'd have known what was going to happen, I would have let him win. I never meant for him to die, I loved him so m-much."

Amy watched me and stood up, sitting on the bed, and she hugged me close to her, murming,"It's okay, it's going to be alright. It's not your fault, Jess, it was an accident, there was nothing you could have done to prevent it. I'm sure your parents understand, and I'm sure Cody does,too."

And instead of blinking the tears away, for the first time I buried my face in Amy's shoulder, and let the tears fall. as they streamed down my cheeks I felt the heavy burden of guilt, rage and pain lift off of my shoulders and fly away. I was washing away the memories, I was cleansing myself of the storm, of the accident, of the dozens of nightmares I had had, and afterwards I would be able to face the hope for tomorrow.

* * *

"Jess, dinner's ready."

I turned my gaze away from the window, the stable yard looked like a Winter wonderland, a glistening layer of powdery snow covered the ground, but paths had been shoveled for the horses, making zig-zag lines across the ground. I didn't feel sore any more, actually I was eager to go back outside and be with the horses again. I had been put on bed suspension for the whole morning though, not being allowed outside, Lou had come over earlier, she and amy had banished me from the kitchen so they could cook Thanksgiving dinner. I had been forced to stay up in my room and be tortured by the scent of turkey cooking along with many other deliscous platters. Amy was standing in the doorway, wearing a nice pair of jeans and a light orange sweater, her dark brown hair cascaded down her back.

I had decided to dress nicely as well, wearing a light blue sweater-vest along with a pair of faded jeans. I had pulled my hair back into a bun. I looked at Amy and smiled a little, then followed her downstairs.

The kitchen was cozy and comforting, warm with with nice smells and the company of friends. Lou was putting a few more dishes on the table while Scott, Ty and Emily helped set up the plates. I looked around the kitchen and smiled, and then there was a knock at the door.

I walked over and opened the door, to see Byron standing on the porch, along with an older woman standing behind him. Byron was wearing a button up shirt with a pair of slacks, he looked at me and smiled warmly, the wiman behind him had his deeo brown eyes, and was wearing a light purple hat, which matched her outfit, I realized that this was Byron's mother. She was carrying a box with her.

"Sorry if we're running late,"He said, I opened up the door and motioned for them to come in.

"No, you're just in time,"I smiled. Amy had invited Byron and his mother over for Thanksgiving dinner.

His mother handed me the box and smiled,"I brought over some apple pie, and I'd like to thank you all again for inviting us."

I looked at the box and smiled again, closing the door after they came in,"Thanks, it's just what we needed."

I put the pie on the counter for later, and then we all sat down at the table, which was goraning under all of the plates. There was turkey, stuffing, green beans, corn, cranberry sauce -all different types of warm food, and there was plenty to go around. I sat inbetween Emily and Byron, sitting across from Ty and Amy.

A silence fell around the table as Amy stood and began to speak.

"Well,"She began, looking around the table, her eyes bright,"First I'd just like to thank everyone for coming, it's a pleasure to have everyone here. Ty and I would also like to thank everyone for thier help with Heartland, everything we've been through, all the horses we've helped, we couldn't have done it without you. The past few days have been pretty rough, but with each others help, we've made it through."

There were soft murmurs of agreement around the table, I stayed quiet, watching Amy as she sat down.

Ty then looked at me and said,"Jess, would you like to say anything?"

A silence fell around the table once again, and I could feel everyone's gazes on me, I felt some color rush to my cheeks, but I took a steady breath and smiled. I looked around the table, at the smiling, happy faces, I remembered everything that had happened over the past year, and then I began.

"..When I first came to Heartland, I had my doubts. After the accident, I was convinced that what had happened was my fault, and I would have to face it,"My gaze met Amy's, and I could see the understanding and happiness there, and I smiled,"...But what I didn't know was that I didn't have to face the past alone. I have friends to help see me through, Heartland made me realize that I wasn't alone. I'd like to thank everyone for helping me see that."

Amy looked at me and beamed, I smiled back, and then exchanged glances with Byron. Ty began to carve the turkey and bits of light and happy conversation started around the table, I looked around the table at the happy faces again, and I had never felt more at home, I realized I wouldn't have rather been anywhere else.

After everyone was finished with dinner, I helped Amy clean up the plates and put out new ones for desert. As I helped dry the dishes, I looked out the window over the sink at the barn and the light gray sky.

Amy followed my gaze, thens he sighed shaking her head a little, smiling,"Go on ahead, but don't stay out too long, you'll miss desert."

I grinned happily and finished drying the dish,"Thanks, Amy,"I said, then I walked over to the door and put on my mom's jacket and my boots.

Byron got up from the table,"I'll come with you."

The two of us left the house and stepped out into the cool afternoon, walking on the path that led to the barn. The stable yard was peacefully silent, it really was beautiful with all the snow. Byron and I walked in calm silence for a few minutes, approaching the barn, it wasn't an awkward silence, there just wasn't anything that needed to be said.

As we stepped into the mouth of the barn Byron looked at me and asked, grinning,"So do you think Heartland's just 'alright'?"

I looked at him as we walked down the barn aisle, our footstep echoing in the silence, and I smiled, joking, but trying to sound cassual,"Oh, I don't know..I _guess_ I could see myself staying here for a little while."

For the first time since the County National qualifieds, I felt completely at peace with the world, I now knew that there was hope for tomorrow, and despite whatever happened, I knew everything would turn out okay. For the first time in a long time I felt like I belonged, Heartland felt like home to me. Well, I _guess_ I could let Christina be right for once, coming to Heartland to start over had definitely worked, I had friends by my side, people I could trust. I had faced Cody's accident and accepted his death, now I could move on. After everything that had happened, I couldn't have imagined things working out so well. I was so happy, I can't even think of words to describe it.

Novello had heard our footsteps, she stuck her head over her stall door, her ears perked. Her eyes were bright and intelligent, hinting at the untamed beauty within. She tossed her elegant head lightly when she saw me and whinnied happily. I smiled and walked over to her, stroking her face as she nuzzled my shoulder.

I couldn't have said it better myself.


End file.
